£t  — V^  T^~-  r  A' 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


PRINCETON.  N.  J. 


PRESENTED   BY 


llrs.  Huston  Dixon 


BX  9178  .B856  1895 

Burrell.  David  James,  1844- 

1926. 
The  spirit  of  the  age.  and 


'm^- 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  AGE 

AND  OTHER  SERMONS. 


DAVID  JAMES  BURRELL,   D.D., 

Pastor  of  the  Collegiate  Reformed  {Dutch)  Church  at  Fifth  Avenue 
and  2gth  Street,  New  York. 


NEW  YORK : 

WILBUR  B.  KETCHAM, 
2  Cooper  Union. 


Copyright,  1895, 
By  Wilbur  B.  Ketcham. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


The  sermons  in  this  book  were  taken  by  dictation 
after  their  delivery,  and  are  briefer  than  in  their 
original  form.  The  purpose  has  been  to  make  them 
clear,  direct  and  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  average 
man.  It  is  humbly  hoped  that,  however  they  may 
fall  short  of  acceptance  in  other  quarters,  they  may 
be  found  helpful  to  such  as  are  seeking  truth  for  com- 
mon uses. 

The  supreme  end  of  preaching  is  to  answer  two 
questions  which  throb  in  the  universal  heart,  to  wit, 
"What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved.?"  and  "How  may  I 
grow  unto  the  full  stature  of  manhood  ? "  There  is  no 
salvation  except  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  only 
hope  of  character  is  in  following  him.  In  preaching, 
therefore,  as  in  living,  we  must  make  everything  of 
Christ.     He  is  first,  last,  midst  and  all  in  all. 

3 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

The  Spirit  of  the  Age,       -----  7 

The  Sons  of  Thunder,               .            .            -            -  17 

YoM  KipPUR,              ..-.--  26 

The  Fall  of  the  Bastille,       ...            -  34 

The  Doctrine  of  Election,            ...            -  42 

Why  We  Love  the  Church  of  God,   .            .            -  51 

Christ  and  the  Bible,        _            -            -            -            -  61 

Is  Jesus  the  Christ  ?..---  75 

Stumbling-Blocks,  -            -            -            -            -       •     -  86 

A  Sermon  from  the  Gallows,             ...  95 

In  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,         -           -           -  104 
The  Initiation  of  Peter  into  the  Mysteries  of  the 

Faith, "3 

The  Taxing  Under  Cyrenius.     A  Christmas  Medita- 
tion,     -.-----  123 

The  New  Year,              .         -•-            -            -            -  132 

The  Sunday  Saloon,           ....           -  142 

The  Waldenses,              .            .            -            -            -  152 

But  Grow,    -------  163 

The  Gleaning  of  the  Grapes  of  Ephraim,     -           -  i73 

The  Pronoun  of  Faith.     A  Sacramental  Meditation;  184 

The  Tabernacle,            -----  193 

Treasures  of  the  Snow,     -           -           -           -           -  203 

What  is  Religion?         -----  211 

Woman  and  the  Sabbath,              -           -           -           -  222 

5 


6  CONTENTS. 

The  Purple  Cup,             .            .            .            -            .  235 

Disabled  by  Unbelip:f,        .            .            -            .  -        245 

The  Story  of  the  Three  Would-be  Disciples,         -  256 

By  the  Brook  in  the  Gorge,        ...  -        267 

The  Open  Sepulchre,    ....           -  276 

I  Am  Debtor,            .._.--  285 

On  this  Rock  will  I  Build  My  Church,       -           -  297 

The  Power  of  the  Keys,    .           .           -           .  -        306 

Masquerading,    ..----  317 

Whom  the  Son  Makes  Free,          .           .           .  .        326 

The  Salvation  Army,    -----  335 

The  Covenanters,               ....  -        347 

The  Six  Sorrows  of  St.  Paul,             ...  359 

He  Shall  So  Come,             .....  370 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  AGE. 

"And  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man, 
clothed  with  a  garment  down  to  the  foot,  and  girt  about  the  paps  with  a 
golden  girdle."— Rev   i  :  13. 

We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  the  Golden  Age  as 
in  the  remote  past.  The  poets  have  celebrated  a  time 
of  primitive  simplicity  when  the  earth  yielded  her  in- 
crease spontaneously,  when  men  suffered  from  no  pains 
or  diseases  and  passed  from  the  earth  in  gentle  sleep. 
Hesiod  tells  of  a  gradual  decadence  from  the  Golden 
through  the  Silver,  the  Brazen  and  the  Heroic  to  the 
Iron  Age  which  marks  the  lowest  level  of  history,  the 
race  being  given  over  to  misfortune  and  sunken  in 
degenerate  vices.  In  Milton's  Hymn  on  the  Nativity 
of  Christ  he  holds  us  for  a  time  entranced  with  the 
music  of  spheres  and  angels,  and  then  arrests  our 
contemplation  in  these  words  : 

"  For  if  such  holy  song 
Enwrap  our  fancy  long, 
Time  will  run  back  and  fetch  the  Age  of  Gold." 

But  time  need  not  run  back  to  fetch  it,  for  the  Gold- 
en Age  is  before  us.  We  are  drawing  nearer  to  it 
every  day.  The  century  in  which  we  are  living  is 
better  than  any  which  has  gone  before  it. 

"  We  are  living,  we  are  dwelling 
In  a  grand  and  awful  time; 
In  an  age  on  ages  telling 
To  be  living  is  sublime." 
(7) 


8  THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    AGE. 

If  required  to  characterize  our  century  in  a  single 
word,  we  should  call  it  the  century  of  light.  The 
golden  candlestick  is  all  ablaze.  This  is  true  even  in 
our  more  material  life.  It  is  scarcely  a  hundred 
years  since  the  homes  of  the  people  were  illuminated 
by  those  primitive  lamps  which  the  Scotch  call 
"crusies,"  such  as  are  taken  from  the  Roman  tombs. 
In  1783  the  flat  .wick  was  invented  by  Leger  of 
Paris.  Then  came  illuminating  gas.  In  1801  Sir 
Walter  Scott  wrote  from  London  to  a  friend  in  the 
highlands,  "  There  is  a  fool  here  who  is  trying  to 
light  the  city  with  smoke."  To-day  the  lightnings 
are  made  to  play  upon  our  children's  spelling-books  : 
Jupiter  Tonans  holds  the  torch  for  us. 

A  similar  advance  has  been  going  on  in  the  moral 
province.  Light  is  only  another  name  for  civiliza- 
tion. Crime  loves  darkness.  Miasms  arise  after  sun- 
down. Truth  is  light,  goodness  is  light,  righteous- 
ness is  light ;  and,  blessed  be  God,  the  world  is  being 
flooded  with  it. 

All  light  in  the  natural  world  is  from  the  sun;  the 
moon  and  stars,  the  blazing  torch,  fire-flies,  glow- 
worms, all  alike  borrow  their  radiance  from  the  great 
central  orb.  So  is  it  in  the  moral  world  ;  all  illumi- 
nation is  from  God,  for  God  is  light.  His  Church  is 
the  golden  candlestick  through  which  he  shines  ;  as 
it  is  written  "  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men  that 
they  may  see  your  good  works  and  glorify  God." 

I.  But  to  be  more  specific  we  may  characterize  the 
present  time  as  The  Age  of  Reason.  The  man  makes 
his  protest  against  the  voice  of  the  masses  ;  the  in- 
dividual against  the  authority  of  the  powers  that 
ought  not  to  be. 

"  The  most  stupendous  thought,"  says  Bancroft 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    AGE.  9 

"  that  ever  was  conceived  by  man,  such  as  had  never 
been  dared  by  Socrates  or  the  Academy,  by  Aristotle 
or  the  Stoics,  took  possession  of  Descartes  in  his 
meditations  on  a  November  night  by  the  banks  of  the 
Danube.  His  mind  separated  itself  from  e\erything 
besides,  and  in  the  consciousness  of  its  own  freedom 
stood  over  against  tradition,  all  received  opinion,  all 
knowledge,  all  existence,  except  itself,  thus  asserting 
the  principle  of  Individuality  as  the  key-note  of  all 
coming  philosophy  and  political  institutions.  Noth- 
ing was  to  be  received  as  truth  by  man  which  did  not 
convince  his  reason.  A  new  world  was  opened  up  in 
which  every  man  was  thenceforth  to  be  his  own  phi- 
losopher." 

Think!  Think  for  yourself.  Let  no  man,  no  Synod, 
no  political  or  ecclesiastical  council  do  your  thinking 
foryou.  This  is  the  spirit  of  Protestantism.  The  pro- 
test is,  First,  against  the  authority  of  the  civil  power 
over  heart  and  conscience.  It  found  utterance  when 
Peter  and  John  were  forbidden  by  the  Jewish  court  to 
preach  the  Gospel  in  the  porch  of  Solomon's  Temple: 
"Whether  it  be  right,"  said  they,  "to  hearken  unto 
you  more  than  to  God,  judge  ye  ;  for  we  cannot  but 
declare  the  truth."  The  protest  is,  Second,  against 
the  authority  of  the  Church.  It  found  expression 
on  a  certain  December  day  when  Luther  marched 
out  of  the  gate  of  Wittenberg  followed  by  a  com- 
pany of  independent  thinkers  and  burned  the  Pope's 
Bull.  So  far  so  good.  The  persecutions  of  the  ages 
have  arisen  from  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the  secular 
and  the  ecclesiastical  powers  to  tyrannize  over  the 
right  of  personal  judgment  in  matters  pertaining  to 
God. 

But   here    we  pause ;  in    all    great    moral    move- 


lO  THE   SPIRIT    OF    THE    AGE. 

ments  the  pendulum  is  sure  to  swing  too  far.  To- 
day we  mark  a  Third  protest,  to-wit :  against  the  au- 
thority of  the  Word  of  God.  The  skipper  of  a  ves- 
sel on  the  high  seas  may  be  excused  for  rejecting  the 
counsel  of  every  passing  fisherman,  but  if  his  inde- 
pendence leads  him  to  throw  over  chart  and  compass, 
he  shows  himself  a  fool.  The  Bible  is  our  only  chart, 
prayer  is  our  magnetic  needle  and  God  himself  is 
our  north  star.  At  this  moment  there  is  said  to  be  a 
revival  in  Romanism  among  some  of  the  European 
nations.  The  reason  is  plain:  For  years  many  theo- 
logical teachers  in  the  universities  have  busied  them- 
selves in  an  attempt  to  overthrow  the  inerrancy  of 
Holy  Writ,  but  the  human  mind  must  have  authority 
to  rest  on;  if  not  the  Bible,  then  the  Pope.  It  were 
far  better  to  lean  upon  a  spurious  infallibility  of  the 
decrepit  old  father  on  the  Tiber,  than  to  acknowledge 
no  authority  at  all.  Pope  or  Bible,  one  or  the  other 
it  must  be. 

The  historian  Guizot  set  out  as  a  free-thinker. 
He  said,  "  Reason  will  solve  all."  But  as  his  years 
increased  he  found  himself  in  a  whirlwind  of  conflict- 
ing doubts  and  perplexities,  and  finally,  with  un- 
speakable joy,  he  fled  to  the  authority  of  the  Scrip- 
tures as  the  Word  of  God. 

n.  The  present  time  may  still  further  be  charac- 
terized as  The  Age  of  Hutnanity.  There  are  those 
who  say  the  Church  has  dreamed  too  much  of 
heaven;  it  would  be  better  to  make  a  heaven  here 
and  now.  And  indeed  it  is  the  function  of  the  Church 
to  touch  human  life  at  every  point  and  to  make  this 
world  a  better  place  to  live  in. 

There  never  was  a  time  since  the  foundation  of 
the  world  when  so  much  attention  was  given  to  soci- 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    AGE.  II 

ology.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  The  Church  has  to 
do  with  society.  It  has  never,  indeed,  been  wholly 
oblivious  of  its  responsibilities  at  this  point.  The 
home,  the  public  school  and  the  hospital  are  the 
three  great  pillars  that  uphold  the  social  fabric,  and 
these  three  are  Christian  institutions.  Their  lights 
are  kindled  at  the  golden  candlestick.  If  men  are 
more  kindly  disposed  toward  one  another  than  they 
used  to  be,  it  is  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  leaven 
of  the  gospel  has  been  leavening  the  lump  of  human 
life.  Our  Lord  himself  set  the  example  when  he 
went  down  to  the  porches  of  Bethesda  where  lay  the 
blind  and  halt  and  withered.  As  his  disciples  we 
must  needs  go  after  him  to  the  homes  of  the  poor 
and  erring  and  the  sorrowing.  It  is  our  business  to 
do  good  as  we  have  opportunity  unto  all  men. 

The  Church  has  also  to  do  with  the  body  politic. 
"Give  me  the  penny,"  said  Jesus.  "Whose  image 
and  superscription  is  this?"  "Caesar's."  "Render 
unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God 
the  things  that  are  God's.''  There  are  things  going 
on  in  the  city  of  New  York  that  ought  to  rouse  the 
indignation  of  every  follower  of  Christ.  It  might  be 
well  at  this  juncture,  instead  of  confining  our  dreams 
to  the  pearly  gates  and  golden  streets  of  the  New 
Jerusalem,  were  we  to  breathe  a  little  of  the  ozone  of 
heaven  into  the  life  of  New  York.  Theft,  unclean- 
ness,  licensed  fraud  and  nameless  crime  are  all  about 
tls ;  and  the  sorrow  of  it  is  that  our  custodians 
of  law  and  order  are  the  head  and  front  of  the  whole 
offending.  It  is  the  business  of  the  Church  to  punc- 
ture this  abscess  ;  it  is  the  function  of  the  gospel  to 
heal  it. 

The    Church  has    a   duty    to  discharge  with    re- 


12  THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    AGE. 

spect  to  every  current  reform  that  looks  to  the 
betterment  of  the  community.  The  overthrow  of  in- 
temperance and  of  the  social  evil,  the  elevation  of 
womanhood,  the  vindication  of  the  rights  of  child- 
hood, the  sanitation  of  the  slums,  all  these  are  within 
her  province.  The  gospel  has  an  application  not 
merely  to  our  spiritual  nature,  but  to  every  point  in 
the  circumference  of  human  life. 

But  here  again  the  pendulum  swings  too  far. 
Much  of  what  is  called  Christian  sociology  is  mere 
sentimental  vaporing.  There  are  some  things  to  be 
remembered.  One  is,  that  the  soul  is  of  infinitely  more 
value  than  the  body.  To  heal  a  man's  physical  in- 
firmities in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  while  neg- 
lecting the  far  more  important  matter  of  his  spiritual 
welfare,  is  unspeakable  folly.  "  For  what  shall  it 
profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his 
own  soul  ?  "  And  another  thing  to  be  remembered  is, 
that  eternity  is  longer  than  time.  To  make  the  pres- 
ent life  sweet  and  wholesome,  to  beautify  the  lower 
home,  to  cultivate  the  mind  in  love  of  things  charm- 
ing and  picturesque  ;  what  are  these  indeed  when 
one  reflects  that  life  is  only  an  handbreath  here, 
while  the  life  hereafter  is  for  incalculable  aeons.  The 
central  thought  of  the  gospel  is  salvation.  The 
greatest  need  of  man  is  always  a  spiritual  need.  The 
question  of  supreme  importance  now,  as  always,  is 
this,  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ? — saved  from  the 
shame,  the  bondage  and  the  penalty  of  sin.  Bethesda 
is  not  the  central  fact  of  Christianity.  Calvary  is  its 
centre.  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
The  minister  who  in  his  eagerness  to  keep  abreast  of 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    AGE.  I3 

the  age,  devotes  himself  to  social  science  to  the  neg- 
lect of  his  more  important  work,  is  blind  to  the  fun- 
damental principle  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  We  are 
to  seek,  first  of  all,  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

A  long  time  ago  there  was  in  Scotland  a  chain- 
bridge  famous  for  its  massive  strength.  A  French 
engineer  came  over  and  took  its  dimensions,  and  in 
due  time  built  a  similar  structure  on  the  Seine  at 
Marly.  It  was,  however,  much  lighter  and  airier  than 
its  prototype.  When  its  gates  were  opened  to  the 
multitude  it  began  to  sway  to  and  fro  ominously  be- 
neath their  foot-fall  and  presently  gave  way.  The 
trouble  with  this  bridge  was  that  its  architect  had 
omitted  the  middle  bolt,  thinking  it  but  a  clumsy 
feature  at  best.  There  are  those  who  are  making  a 
similar  mistake  in  these  days  in  their  eagerness  to 
press  the  application  of  the  gospel  upon  the  temporal 
wants  of  the  people.  The  middle  bolt  of  the  whole 
gospel  fabric  is  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ — God's  plan 
for  the  deliverance  of  the  race  from  sin. 

III.  The  time  in  which  we  are  living  may  still 
further  be  characterized  as  The  Age  of  Spiritual  Dy- 
namics. We  are  fond  of  calling  it  the  Missionary  Cen- 
tury. More  has  been  done  for  the  propagation  of  the 
gospel  among  the  nations  in  this  century  than  in  all 
that  have  gone  before  it. 

The  key-note  of  the  great  propaganda  is  the  word 
"Go!"  Our  Lord  came  back  after  his  crucifixion 
and  marked  out  the  campaign  for  the  conquest  of  the 
world.  He  said  to  his  disciples,  "  Go  ye  everywhere 
and  proclaim  the  gospel."  But  for  eighteen  hundred 
years,  the  Church  seemed  unwilling  to  believe 
that  he  really  meant  it.  Then  came  William  Carey, 
the   consecrated    cobbler,   and    with   him  other  like- 


14  THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    AGE. 

minded  ones  who  heard  the  Master's  marching  orders 
and  were  prepared  to  take  him  at  his  word.  So  the 
glorious  work  began.  No  sooner  did  the  Church 
hearken  to  that  injunction,  "Go  !  "  than  the  doors  of 
the  nations  began  to  fly  open.  To-day  a  war  is  being 
waged  between  the  latest  born  of  constitutional 
governments  and  the  last  remaining  of  the  old  bar- 
baric sovereignties.  What  is  to  be  the  outcome  ? 
Japan  will  rise  to  the  position  of  a  first-class  power, 
and  if  so  it  will  be  by  virtue  of  her  acquiescence  in 
the  principles  of  Christian  civilization.  The  great 
wall  of  China  will  fall  down  as  flat  as  the  ancient 
walls  of  Jericho,  that  the  army  of  the  cross  may  enter 
to  possess  the  land.  Four  hundred  millions  of  people 
will  be  made  accessible  to  the  good  news  of  salvation. 

In  the  meantime  the  last  of  the  world's  continents 
is  being  prepared  for  the  same  gracious  incursion. 
It  is  likely  that  the  centre  of  operations  for  the  next 
century  will  be  Africa  ;  the  great  battle  of  Armaged- 
don will  be  fought  there.  If  the  western  edge  of  that 
continent  were  laid  so  as  to  touch  our  Pacific  coast, 
its  eastern  edge  would  overlap  Ireland.  Its  popu- 
lation is  four  times  that  of  America.  All  this  is  fallow 
ground  waiting  the  seed  sowing  of  the  truth, 
Ethiopia  is  stretching  out  her  hands  toward  God. 
Thus  the  gates  are  all  unbarred.  No  sooner  did  the 
Church  hearken  to  the  word  "  Go  !  "  than  God  him- 
self uttered  the  open  sesame  which  sprung  the  bolts 
and  rolled  back  the  mighty  doors. 

And  along  with  this  we  mark  the  fulfilment  of  the 
glorious  promise.  The  missionaries  have  gone  no- 
where alone  ;  the  Master  has  always  accompanied 
them  with  his  benediction.  It  was  a  wonderful  thing 
that   he  said,  "All   power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven 


THE    SPIRIT    OF    THE    AGE. 


15 


and  on  earth.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  evangelize  all 
nations  ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatso- 
ever I  have  commanded  you,  and  lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  Mark  the 
comprehensiveness  of  that  word — all  power,  all  na- 
tions, all  things,  all  the  days. 

Missions  a  failure  !  Nay,  they  are  approved  by 
the  logic  of  history  as  a  glorious  success  every  way. 
At  the  beginning  of  this  century  the  East  India 
Company  said,  "  The  sending  of  missionaries  to  evan- 
gelize India  is  the  maddest  dream  that  ever  entered  a 
human  mind."  Sir  Rivers  Thompson,  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Bengal,  says,  "  Christian  missions  have 
accomplished  more  for  the  good  of  India  than  all 
other  agencies  combined."  How  could  it  be  other- 
wise ?  The  word  of  the  omnipotent  God  is  pledged 
to  the  work. 

It  is  a  calamity  for  any  man  to  be  behind  the  time. 
No  man,  however,  can  be  abreast  of  the  age  who  does 
not  fall  in  with  this  great  movement  for  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  nations. 

"  There's  a  fount  about  to  stream, 
There's  a  light  about  to  gleam, 
There's  a  midnight  darkness  changing  into  day  ; 
Men  of  thought  and  men  of  action, 
Clear  the  way  !  " 

It  is  glorious  to  live  now.  The  gleaning  of  the 
grapes  of  Ephraim  is  better  than  the  whole  vintage  of 
Abiezer.  Farewell  to  the  past,  to  the  darkness  of 
vice  and  superstition,  to  ignorance  and  oppression  ; 
and  welcome  the  future— the  light  of  the  morning, 
the  rattling  down  of  the  strongholds  of  iniquity,  the 
shoutings  of  the  sons  of  God  ! 

But  wonderful  as   is  the  present  time,  a  greater 


l6  THE    SPIRIT     OF    THE    AGE. 

century  awaits  us.  "I  hear  the  sound  of  conflict 
yonder,"  said  blind  John  of  Bohemia  at  the  Battle 
of  Crecy.  He  was  old  and  blind  and  wounded  unto 
death.  His  French  troops  were  wavering  ;  he  called 
to  them,  "  I  hear  the  sound  of  glorious  conflict 
yonder  !  Ye  are  my  vassals  ;  gather  about  me  close, 
and  lead  me  on  so  far  that  I  may  swing  my  sword 
once  more  !  "  Oh  !  who  that  believes  in  God,  in  the 
glorious  promise  of  the  gospel,  in  the  logic  of  events, 
does  not  long  to  see  what  the  future  shall  bring  forth 
to  the  glory  of  God  ?  I  hear  the  footfall  of  a  mighty 
company  turning  the  spur  of  Olivet,  and  those  that 
go  before  cast  their  garments  in  the  way  and  join 
with  those  that  follow  after,  "  Hosanna  !  Hosanna  ! 
to  the  Son  of  David.  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord."  I  hear  the  ringing  of  bells 
far  yonder  :  bells  of  heaven  and  all  the  bells  of  earth 
echoing  back  their  welcome  to  the  Golden  Age 
when  Jesus  shall  reign  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth. 

"  Ring  out  the  old,  ring  in  the  new  ; 
Ring  out  the  false,  ring  in  the  true  ! 
Ring  out  old  shapes  of  foul  disease, 
Ring  out  the  narrowing  lust  of  gold  ; 
Ring  out  the  thousand  wars  of  old, 
Ring  in  the  thousand  years  of  peace  ! 
Ring  in  the  valiant  man  and  free, 
The  larger  heart,  the  kindlier  hand  ; 
Ring  out  the  darkness  of  the  land, 
Ring  in  the  Christ  that  is  to  be  !  " 


THE  SONS  OF  THUNDER. 

"And  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John  the  brother  of  James ;  and  he  sur, 
named  them  Boanerges,  which  is,  the  sons  of  thunder." — Mark  iii.  17. 

Close  to  the  water's  edge  of  Lake  Tiberias  dwelt 
the  fisherman  Zebedee.  The  scene  before  his  cottage 
was  such  as  to  inspire  thoughts  of  a  more  glorious 
world  and  a  nobler  life  than  were  suggested  by  his 
boats  and  nets — "  a  burnished  mirror  set  in  a  frame  of 
rounded  hills  and  rugged  mountains  rising  and  roll- 
ing backward  and  upward  "  to  where  hoary  Hermon 
seemed  to  touch  the  skies.  The  fisherman  and  his 
good  wife  Salome  had  prospered  in  temporal  things. 
The  Lord,  moreover,  had  blessed  them  with  two 
noble  sons,  now  in  the  early  vigor  of  manhood,  giv- 
ing promise  of  eminence  and  usefulness.  They  had 
been  instructed  in  the  village  schools  and  under  the 
tuition  of  the  rabbis  they  had  made  themselves  fa- 
miliar, not  only  with  the  Law  and  Prophets,  but  with 
current  systems  of  philosophy.  Thrice  every  year 
they  had  gone  up  to  Jerusalem  with  their  father  to 
attend  the  great  national  festivals.  There  they  had 
watched  the  burning  of  the  sacrifices,  those  flaming 
prophecies  of  the  long-looked-for  Messiah,  and  had 
heard  the  stately  chanting  of  the  Messianic  psalms, 
and  had  stood,  wondering  and  dreaming,  in  Solomon's 
porch  under  the  vine  with  its  golden  clusters  typify- 
ing the  glory  of  Messiah's  reign.     Thus  they  learned 

(17) 


l8  THE    SONS    OF    THUNDER. 

to  watch  the  future  for  his  coming.  From  Purim 
and  Passover  they  returned  to  their  fishing  boats,  to 
see  in  every  daybreak,  in  every  kindling  splendor  of 
the  clouds  above  Hermon,  a  new  prophecy  of  the 
rising  of  the  Son  of  Righteousness  with  healing  in 
his  beams.  The  elder  of  these  brothers  was  energetic 
and  fearless.  He  loved  to  be  abroad  upon  the  lake 
when  the  winds  came  rushing  down  the  narrow  de- 
files and  lashed  its  waters  into  fury.  Not  so  the 
younger ;  his  happiest  days  were  when  the  sea 
was  restful  and  untroubled.  Yet  in  his  gentle  spirit 
there  was  a  slumbering  fire,  and  time  would  shov/  him 
to  be  "not  a  dreamer  among  shadows,  but  a  man 
among  men." 

In  those  days  came  John  the  Baptist  preaching 
and  saying,  "  Repent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  at  hand."  The  two  brothers,  in  company  with 
many  of  their  townsmen,  went  over  to  the  fords  of 
Bethabara  to  see  and  hear.  There  among  the  rocks 
by  the  swift  river  stood  the  hermit-priest  in  the  midst 
of  an  eager  multitude  of  listeners.  "  I  am  the  voice 
of  one  crying  in  the  wilderness.  Prepare  ye  the  way 
of  the  Lord  !  The  time  is  at  hand.  I  indeed  bap- 
tize you  with  water  ;  but  there  cometh  ono  after  me, 
whose  shoe's  latchet  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose.  He 
shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  fire. 
Bring  forth,  therefore,  fruits  meet  for  repentance." 
So  saying,  he  baptized  them  in  the  river  and  bade 
them  watch.  The  brothers  were  thrilled  with  ex- 
pectancy, believing  the  fulfilment  of  their  long- 
cherished  hopes  was  nigh  at  hand.  One  day  as  they 
were  standing  with  the  multitude  on  the  river  bank, 
the  Baptist  pointed  to  a  solitary  figure  passing  near 
by  and  said,  "  Behold,   the    Lamb  of  God  !  "     They 


THE    SONS    OF    THUNDER.  I9 

followed  him  at  once.  "Rabbi,  where  dwellest 
thou?"  "Come  and  see."  And  they  abode  with 
him  that  night.  A  night  with  Jesus  !  Did  ever  a 
soul  in  the  gloaming  or  in  the  night  watches  hold 
tryst  with  him,  and  not  discover  that  he  was  the 
veritable  Son  of  God  ?  But  they  could  not  tarry  long. 
It  was  the  summer  season  of  labor,  and  returning  to 
Bethsaida  they  betook  themselves  to  their  usual  tasks. 

One  morning  they  were  seated  by  the  shore,  wash- 
ing their  nets.  On  a  sudden,  he  stood  beside  them, 
and  glancing  toward  their  nets  and  out  upon  the 
waters — types  of  life's  larger  field  and  more  important 
work — he  said,  "  Follow  me,  and  I  will  make  you 
fishers  of  men."  This  was  their  formal  ordination  to 
the  apostolate.  And  they  rose  and  followed  him. 
From  this  time  forward  they  were  with  him  in  all 
the  important  events  of  his  ministry.  They  saw  his 
wonderful  works  of  healing,  they  heard  him  speak 
as  never  man  spake  of  the  eternal  verities,  they 
listened  to  his  sermon  on  the  mount  in  which  he  set 
forth  the  qualifications  of  citizenship  in  the  kingdom 
of  truth  and  righteousness.  As  time  passed  they  were 
more  and  more  confirmed  in  the  thought  that  he  had 
come  to  set  up  an  earthly  throne.  On  one  occasion, 
their  mother,  Salome,  asked  of  Jesus,  that  her  two 
sons  might  sit  "  the  one  on  his  right  hand,  the  other 
on  the  left  in  his  kingdom."  And  he  answered, 
"  Ve  know  not  what  ye  ask"  ;  and  turning  to  thfim, 
"  Can  ye  drink  of  the  cup  that  I  drink  of  ?  and  can  ye 
be  baptized  with  my  baptism?"  They  answered, 
"  We  can."  Little  did  they  dream  how  their  wish 
was  to  be  fulfilled. 

As  they  continued  to  follow  Jesus  they,  with 
Peter,    made  up  "  the   chosen    three."     They    dwelt 


20  THE    SONS    OF    THUNDER. 

with  him  in  the  glory  of  Mount  Tabor,  when  his 
garments  were  white  and  glistering  and  his  face 
as  the  sun  shineth  in  his  strength.  They  were 
with  him  in  his  triumphal  entry  when  the  com- 
pany going  on  before  and  following  after  cried, 
"  Hosanna  !  Hosanna  !  to  him  that  cometh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord."  They  were  with  him  in  the 
upper  chamber  on  the  night  of  the  last  passover, 

"...     that  dark,  that  doleful  night, 

When  all  the  powers  of  hell  arose 
Against  the  Son  of  God's  delight." 

In  the  shadow  of  the  olive  trees  at  Gethsemane 
they  heard  his  prayer,  "  O  my  Father  !  if  it  be  possible, 
let  this  cup  pass  from  me."  One  of  them  saw  him 
nailed  to  the  accursed  tree  when  the  light  went  out 
and  the  darkness  was  pierced  by  that  strange  cry, 
"  Eloi,  Eloi,  lama  sabachthani  ?"  And  was  this  the 
cup  of  which  they  were  to  drink  and  was  this  the 
baptism  with  which  they  were  to  be  baptized  ?  They 
had  not  long  to  wait.  In  the  year  44  the  sword  of 
persecution  was  drawn  by  Herod  Agrippa  against 
the  followers  of  Christ.  James  was  apprehended. 
So  calm  and  fearless  was  his  demeanor  before  his 
judges,  that  Clement  of  Alexandria  says  that  his 
accuser  greeted  him  with  a  brotherly  kiss,  saying, 
"  Thou  hast  persuaded  me  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  ! " 
He  was  led  out  beyond  the  walls  ;  there  was  a  swift 
flash  of  the  blade  and  his  head  rolled  from  the  block. 
He  had  drained  the  purple  cup  ;  he  had  passed  under 
the  baptism  of  blood. 

But  John  lived  on.  Nero  kindled  the  living  torches, 
smearing  the  disciples  with  pitch  and  burning  them 
to  illumine  the  revels  in  his  garden,  but  the  fire  passed 


THE   SONS   OF    THUNDER.  21 

over  him.  Titus  marched  against  Jerusalem,  reduced 
it  by  the  slow  process  of  starvation  and  reared  a  line 
of  awful  crosses  on  the  surrounding  hills,  but  this 
calamity  also  passed  over  him.  It  was  not  without  a 
peculiar  fitness  that  in  course  of  time  the  Benjamin 
of  the  Twelve  became  the  patriarch  of  the  multiply- 
ing churches.  He  was  settled  as  "  Episcopos "  of 
the  Ephesian  congregation  and  from  that  Gibraltar 
of  paganism  he  sent  out  his  messages  of  encourage- 
ment to  the  scattered  saints.  It  was  during  this 
pastorate  that  he  wrote  the  "Gospel  of  St.  John." 
There  is  a  tradition  that  no  rain  fell  upon  the  un- 
covered oratory  while  he  wrote  this  marvellous  pre 
sentation  of  the  divineness  of  Jesus.  The  emblem  of 
St.  John's  Gospel  is  the  eagle — "  bird  of  the  loftiest 
flight,  the  keenest  eye,  the  surest  nest  among  the 
cliffs."  The  Apostle's  voice  went  crashing  through 
current  systems  of  unbelief,  making  havoc  of  sciences 
and  philosophies  alike  with  its  solemn  declaration  : 
"In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  +he  Word  was 
with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  And  the  Word 
was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us." 

In  the  year  64  the  demon  of  persecution  again 
awoke  and  John  was  one  of  its  victims.  He  was 
banished  to  the  lonely  Island  of  Patmos  in  the 
Aegaean  Sea.  The  event  is  commemorated  in  an 
old  Latin  hymn  : 

"  Through  Rome's  infuriate  city, 

From  Caesar's  judgment  chair, 
They  drag  Christ's  loved  disciple, 

The  Saint  with  silver  hair. 
To  desert  islands  banished, 

With  God  the  exile  dwells, 
And  sees  the  future  glory 

His  wondrous  writing  tells." 


22  THE    SONS    OF    THUNDER. 

I.  We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  John  as  The 
Apostle  of  Love.  Our  conception  of  any  character  is 
usually  based  on  a  single  episode.  The  Virgin  Mary 
is  known  to  us  by  her  posture  in  the  annunciation — 
the  adoring  upturned  face,  so  well  translated  by 
Raphael,  and  the  words,  "  Behold  thy  handmaid  !  Be 
it  unto  me  even  as  thou  wilt."  Paul  on  Mars  Hill, 
his  eye  enkindled  with  ardor  and  his  mean  presence 
glorified  by  the  enthusiasm  of  a  noble  cause  ;  Peter 
declaring  to  the  multitude  on  the  day  of  Pentecost 
that  their  hands  are  red  with  the  innocent  blood  of 
Jesus  ;  Judas  in  the  garden  kissing  the  Saviour's 
cheek  ;  these  are  character  sketches  standing  out 
from  the  narrative  and  catching  the  eye  like  the 
masterpieces  in  the  gallery  of  the  Louvre.  What 
scene  in  the  life  of  the  Apostle  John  will  best  describe 
him  ?  See  him  in  the  upper  chamber  reclining  on  the 
Saviour's  breast,  his  face  all  radiant  with  love. 
We  are  reminded  how  Cyrus  at  a  certain  festival 
gave  to  each  of  his  officers  a  costly  gift :  to  one  a 
jewelled  garment,  to  one  a  golden  cup,  to  another 
a  badge  of  martial  prowess  ;  then  turning  to  his 
favorite,  he  put  his  arm  around  him,  saying  "  Chry- 
santes,  thou  hast  my  love."  This  was  the  distinc- 
tion put  upon  St.  John  that  night  before  the 
crucifixion — the  affection  of  the  Son  of  God.  Oh, 
gift  of  gifts  !  He  never  forgot  that  paschal  feast. 
It  was  the  stimulation  of  his  three  score  years  of 
labor  for  Christ.  It  moved  him  to  a  most  tender 
compassion  for  all. 

It  is  related  that  when  a  young  man  of  Ephesus, 
who  had  made  profession  of  the  Christian  faith, 
had  fallen  under  temptation,  mingled  in  the  revels 
about  the  midnight  fires  and  finally  attached  himself 


THE   SONS   OF    THUNDER.  23 

to  a  notorious  band  of  robbers,  the  old  Apostle  went 
everywhere  in  search  of  him.     He  exposed  himself 
on  a  dangerous  road  among  the  ravines  and  rejoiced 
when   a  horde  of  wild  looking  men   fell  upon    him 
with  threatening  cries  and  pinioned  him.     "  Lead  me 
to  your  captain,"  he  said.     The  young  man  would 
have  fled  at  his  approach,  but  John  held  out  his  arms 
affectionately,  saying,   "  My  son,  if  any  man  sin  there 
is   an  advocate  with  the  Father,  even   Jesus  Christ 
the  righteous."     He  bent  over  the  youth  with  all  the 
tender   affection    of  the    shepherd    seeking   the   lost 
sheep  and  saw  him  brought  back  to  his  first  love. 

It  is  related,  also,  that  when  the  pastor  of  the 
Ephesian  Church  was  so  old  and  feeble  that  he  must 
needs  be  borne  in  a  litter  through  the  streets  to  meet 
his  congregation,  he  would  lift  his  hands  and  say, 
"Little  children,  love  one  another." 

Love  is  indeed  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world. 
The  gift  of  tongues,  the  gift  of  prophecy,  all  other 
gifts  shall  cease,  but  love  abideth  ever.  Luther  calls 
it  "  the  shortest  and  longest  divinity  ;  shortest  in 
words>  but  longest  in  use  and  practice."  Love  never 
faileth.     Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law. 

IL  We  know  this  Apostle  also  as  A  Son  of  Thunder; 
so  the  Master  called  him,  nor  is  there  any  incongruity 
here.  Only  strong  natures  are  capable  of  earnest 
love.  Love  prompts  to  energy  and  noble  deeds.  An 
apostle  of  love  is  ever  a  son  of  thunder.  Wheifthe 
people  of  a  certain  village  refused  to  entertain  Jesus 
the  indignation  of  his  beloved  friend  would  have,  on 
the  mstant,  called  down  fire  from  heaven  upon  them. 
As  -ninistcr  of  the  Ephesian  Church  he  was  required 
to  confront  the  Gnostics  and  Nicolaitans,  and  they 
found  in  him    a  foeman   worthy  of   their  steel.    He 


24  THE    SONS   OF    THUNDER, 

was  ready  to  face  a  drawn  sword.  A  roaring  lion  had 
no  terrors  for  him,  because  the  love  of  Christ  constrain- 
ed him.  He  declared  the  glorious  gospel  with  a  voice 
accustomed  to  command  amid  the  storms  of  Gen- 
nesaret.  In  his  preaching  there  was  no  mumbling  of 
words,  no  mincing  of  phrases.  He  characterized  the 
man  who  is  false  to  his  profession  as  a  liar,  the  man 
who  hated  his  fellows  as  a  murderer,  the  man  who 
denied  the  great  verities  as  anti-Christ.  To  the 
Elect  Lady  he  wrote,  "  If  there  come  any  unto  you 
and  bring  not  this  doctrine,  receive  him  not  into  your 
house,  neither  bid  him  God-speed  :  for  he  that  bid- 
deth  him  God-speed  is  partaker  of  his  evil  deeds." 

III.  But  this  Apostle  was  known  by  still  another 
name,  Theologos — a  lover  and  teacher  of  spiritual 
things.  If  times  and  places  are  of  God's  ordinance, 
it  was  assuredly  not  chance  that  selected  Patmos  for 
his  home.  It  was  encompassed  by  the  deep  waters 
of  the  Mediterranean,  "  now  purple  as  wine,  now  green 
as  an  emerald,  flushing  and  flashing  in  the  light  like 
the  plumage  of  a  dove,"  stretching  away  into  the 
calm  distance,  or  leaping  and  roaring  in  storms. 
What  a  closet  for  a  man  to  dream  in  !  What  peace 
the  waves  murmured  !  What  battle  clarions  they 
sounded  !  It  was  not  long  ere  the  bereaved  churches 
heard  from  their  venerable  pastor  in  the  most  thrilling 
letter  that  ever  was  penned  by  mortal  man.  He  be- 
ing in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  Day  saw  a  glorious 
panorama  of  visions  that  passed  before  him  in  quick 
succession  :  a  golden  candlestick  and  one  walking 
in  the  midst  of  it  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man.  A 
sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire  ;  and  an  innumerable 
company  of  harpers  playing  on  golden  harps  and 
singing,    "  Holy  !   Holy  !    Lord  God  Almighty  !  "     A 


THE    SONS    OF    THUNDER.  25 

company  assembled  to  witness  the  opening  of  a  book 
with  seven  seals  ;  and,  as  the  seals  are  broken  with 
successive  trumpet  blasts,  the  annals  of  all  future 
history  are  unrolled.  The  marshalling  of  the  hosts 
of  Heaven  and  hell  to  thegreat  battle  of  Armageddon; 
the  white  company,  led  on  by  Shiloh  with  garments 
dipped  in  blood,  meets  the  legions  of  darkness  in 
mortal  fray;  the  sound  of  clashing  arms;  then  rattling 
chains;  and  Satan  is  cast  into  the  bottomless  pit  and 
the  smoke  of  torment  ascendeth.  The  marriage 
supper  of  the  Lamb  ;  the  bridegroom  brings  home 
his  exiled  bride  without  spot  or  blemish  and  leads  her 
to  his  throne  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  heavenly 
multitude.  The  New  Jerusalem,  with  gates  of  pearl 
and  golden  streets  descending  from  God  out  of 
heaven.  A  last  glorious  sun-burst!  a  voice,  "  Behold, 
I  come  quickly!  "  And  the  old  dreamer  answers, 
"Amen!  Even  so  come.  Lord  Jesus!"  The  flame- 
pointed  pen  lies  idle  on  the  parchment,  the  busy 
hands  are  still,  and  from  the  silent  shores  of  Patmos 
the  soul  of  that  disciple,  whom  Jesus  loved,  has 
gone  up  to  lean  again  upon  his  bosom  at  the  feast. 
"The  spirit  of  this  gracious  man,"  says  TertuUian, 
"still  wanders  among  us."  Doubtless  it  does  ;  a 
calming  and  sanctifying  influence.  Good  men,  being 
dead,  yet  live  and  labor.  "  The  body  of  John,"  says 
the  Apocrypha,  "  lies  buried  in  peace  but  his  influence 
lives  forever.  All  people  will  tell  of  his  wisdom,  and 
the  congregation  of  saints  will  declare  his  praise." 

An  ancient  collect  prescribes  this  prayer:  "Good 
Lord,  do  thou  enlighten  us  with  the  doctrine  and  fill 
us  with  the  mind  of  thy  blessed  evangelist,  that  we 
may  at  last  enter  into  thy  beatific  presence  and  enjoy 
the  rewards  of  everlasting  life." 


YOM  KIPPUR. 

"And  this  shall  be  a  statute  forever  unto  you  :  that  in  the  seventh  month,  on 
the  tenth  day  of  the  month,  ye  shall  afflict  your  souls,  and  do  no  work 
at  all,  whether  it  be  one  of  your  own  country,  or  of  a  stranger  that  so- 
journeth  among  you  :  for  on  that  day  shall  the  priest  make  an  atonement 
for  you,  to  cleanse  you,  that  ye  may  be  clean  from  all  your  sins  before 
the  Lord." — Lev.  xvi.  29,  30. 

The  Jews  are  a  most  interesting  people.  In  re- 
spect to  wealth,  intellectual  power,  and  historic  in- 
fluence, they  hold  a  prominent  place,  and,  yet,  they 
are  ostracized  the  world  over.  The  Jew  is  a  man 
without  a  country  ;  a  cosmopolite  whose  only  patriot- 
ism is  in  the  memory  of  a  glorious  past.  The  govern- 
ment of  ancient  Israel  was  a  t,heocracy  and  as  such 
had  its  centre  on  Mount  Zion.  The  overthrow  of 
the  temple  marked  the  destruction  of  the  Jewish 
ritual  ;  yet,  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  that  olden 
time  are  preserved  and  celebrated  in  miniature, 
even  to  this  day.  The  public  press  has  made  mention 
of  the  recent  celebration  of  Yom  Kippur,  or  the  Day 
of  Atonement.*  It  is  the  custom  on  this  occasion  for 
each  member  of  a  Jewish  household  to  sacrifice  a 
fowl  as  a  sin-offering.  The  victim  is  waved  thrice 
and  then  consecrated  to  death  in  the  significant 
words,  "  May  this  be  my  substitute.  It  shall  go  unto 
death  that  I  may  enter  the  life  of  the  blessed  forever" 
This  is,  substantially,  all  that  remains  of  the  ancient 


*  Preached,  October  14,  1894. 

(26) 


YOM    KIPPUR.  27 

ceremonial.     It  is  sadly  significant  that  the  scattered 
Israelites  should  so  tenaciously  cling  to  it. 

The  tenth  day  of  the  seventh  month  was  set  apart 
in  the  Levitical   Law  as  the   Day  of  Atonement.     It 
was    the   Great   Day.      All    the   other    anniversaries 
in    the    Jewish   calendar  were    of  slight   importance 
as  compared    with    it.      This    towered    above    them 
like    Hermon    among    the   hills.       In  the  wilderness 
journey  it  was  looked  forward  to  with  solemn  antici- 
pation.    No  food  was  to  be  partaken  of  ;  no  work 
was  to  be  done  ;  there  must  be  no  sound  of  hammer 
or  of  axe  ;  if  the  people  spoke  it  was  in  muffled  tones. 
At  sound  of  the  trumpet  they    gathered  in  the  door- 
way of  their  tents  and  turned  their  faces   toward  the 
tabernacle  in  the  midst  of  the  encampment.     The  in- 
terest was  centred  on  three  important  events  :  First, 
The  usual  morning  sacrifice.     The  high  priest  in  his 
golden  robes— so  called  because  they  were  embroid- 
ered  with  threads    of   gold — offered   a  lamb  with  a 
deal    of   flour   and    a   small    measure  of  beaten  oil. 
This  was  followed  by  the  benediction  :   "  The  Lord 
bless   thee  and  keep  thee  ;  the  Lord   make  his   face 
to  shine   upon    thee    and   be    gracious    unto    thee; 
the   Lord   lift  up  upon   thee  the  light  of  his   coun- 
tenance and   give  thee    peace."     Second,    An   offering 
by    the    high  priest  for    himself,    and  his   brethren  in 
the    holy    office.       He    retired,     divested     himself    of 
his  golden    garments,    bathed  himself  and    put   on 
white.     These  robes  without  a  thread  of  color  were 
called  "The  Garments  of  Holiness."     He  then  came 
forth  and   proceeded  to  the  brazen  altar  ;  he  slew  a 
bullock,  caught  its  blood  in  a  basin  and  bearing  that 
in  one  hand,  with  a  golden  censer  in  the  other  full  of 
live  coals  from  the  altar  on  which  he  had  thrown  a 


28  YOM    KIPPUR. 

double  handful  of  incense,  he  entered  the  Holy  Place, 
waved  the  censer  before  the  golden  altar  and  sprinkled 
the  blood  before  the  Holiest  of  All.  Third,  The- 
atonement  for  the  people.  This  was  the  great  business 
of  the  day.  The  high  priest  came  forth  into  the  open 
court  where  two  goats  were  awaiting  him.  Lots 
were  cast  by  which  one  of  the  goats  was  devoted  to 
Jehovah  and  the  other  to  Azazel.  He  then  slew  the 
goat  which  had  been  devoted  to  Jehovah  and,  bearing 
asfain  a  basin  of  blood,  entered  the  tabernacle.  The 
supreme  moment  had  come.  The  people  saw  him 
lift  the  curtain  and  pass  in.  They  could  only 
imagine  what  occurred  within  the  sacred  enclosure. 
He  passed  between  the  golden  candlestick  and  the 
table  of  shew-bread  to  the  fine-twined  curtain  which 
hung  before  the  Holiest  of  All  ;  he  lifted  it,  entered 
and  stood  before  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant ;  he 
sprinkled  the  blood  seven  times  before  it  and  then  on 
the  mercy-seat  ;  bowing  down  he  made  supplication 
for  the  people  ;  then  he  retraced  his  steps.  In  the 
outer  court  the  goat  for  Azazel  awaited  him.  In  the 
sight  of  the  people  he  laid  both  hands  upon  its  head 
and  pressed  hard  to  signify  the  transfer  of  their  sins. 
Then  the  goat  was  led  away  by  the  hand  of  a  fit 
person  to  the  unknown  land. 

What  did  this  mean  ?  Surely  so  elaborate  a 
ceremony  could  not  have  been  without  significance. 
There  must  have  been  something  behind  it. 

I.  To  begin  with,  it  set  forth  the  tremendous  fact 
of  sin.  It  was  this  that  prompted  the  gathering  of 
the  great  multitude  who  viewed  the  solemnities  with 
the  most  profound  interest.  There  are  some  con- 
siderations which  make  sin  an  inexpressibly  terrible 
thing.     First,  it  is  universal.     What   a  relief  it  would 


YOM    KIPPUR.  29 

be  to  hear  that  somewhere  on  earth  a  tribe  had  been 
discovered  in  whose  character  and  consciousness 
there  was  no  trace  of  the  unclean  thing.  But  alas ! 
there  is  no  such  people.  The  great  stone  book  of 
nature  records  the  history  of  all  events  in  the  physical 
world.  You  may  see  in  the  old  red  sand-stone  the 
traces  of  rain  drops  that  fell  thousands  of  years  ago. 
By  inspecting  them  you  may  tell  from  what  quarter 
the  wind  was  blowing  when  the  rain  fell.  So  in 
human  nature  we  note  an  impartial  record  of  all  that 
has  transpired  in  the  moral  province.  It  remains  to 
be  seen  that  there  has  ever  been  a  time  or  anywhere 
a  people  that  did  not  bear  the  mark  of  the  serpent's 
trail.  Second,  it  is  distributive.  We  are  told  by  physi- 
cians that  there  is  probably  no  person  who  can  be  said 
to  be  perfectly  well.  The  beating  of  the  pulse,  the 
complexion,  the  twitching  of  the  eye-lids  will  show 
the  presence  of  disease  in  some  form.  All  have  not 
the  same  malady,  but  all  are  sick  with  a  sickness 
which  will  ultimately  be  unto  death.  The  moral 
malady,  however,  is  the  same  with  all  men.  The 
Lord  looked  down  from  heaven  to  see  if  there  was 
any  that  wrought  righteousness  and  behold  there  is 
none  that  doeth  good,  no,  not  one.  Third,  it  is  all- 
pervasive.  Its  effect  is  like  the  venom  of  the  cobra, 
which  sends  a  fever  through  nerve  and  sinew,  through 
vein  and  artery,  insinuating  itself  throughout  the 
body  to  its  very  finger  tips.  Sin  defiles  the  heart, 
distorts  the  reason,  perverts  the  conscience  and  par- 
alyzes the  will  ;  "The  whole  head  is  sick,  the  whole 
heart  is  faint ;  from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the 
sole  of  the  foot  there  is  no  soundness,  but  all  is 
wounds  and  bruises  and  putrefying  sores."  Fourth, 
it  is  a  mortal  malady.    There  is  no  resisting  the  force  of 


30  YOM    KIPPUR. 

retribution.  The  law  is,  "  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it 
shall  die."  Its  operation  is  slow,  but  sure,  like  the 
onward  movement  of  a  glacier.  Would  a  Swiss 
peasant  think  to  oppose  it  by  bracing  his  form 
against  it?  or,  by  building  a  barricade  against  it  ?  So 
irresistible  is  the  automatic  operation  of  the  law  of 
consequences.     Death  is  the  corollary  of  sin. 

II.  The  other  fact  which  was  impressively  pre- 
sented on  Yom  Kippur  was  atonement ;  and  it  is  note- 
worthy that  the  thought  of  blood-atonement  is  as 
universal  as  the  conviction  of  sin.  Sacrifice  is  a 
world-wide  mstitution.  The  altars  are  reared  and 
fires  are  kindled  everywhere.  Not  only  lambs  and 
bullocks  are  offered,  but  children  go  through  the  fires 
to  Moloch  and  human  hecatombs  are  laid  upon  the 
altars.  Yet,  obviously,  blood  has  no  virtue  in  itself. 
It  is  incredible  that  any  one  should  believe  that  the 
killing  of  a  dumb  creature  should  be  an  equivalent 
for  the  sentence  which  has  been  passed  upon  a  human 
soul.  What  said  Isaiah  ?  "  God  is  not  pleased  with 
thousands  of  rams  or  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of  oil." 
What  said  St.  Paul  ?  "  It  is  impossible  that  the  blood 
of  bulls  and  of  goats  should  take  away  sin."  What 
said  Isaac  Watts  ? 

"  Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts 
On  Jewish  altars  slain, 
Can  give  the  guilty  conscience  peace, 
Or  wash  away  the  stain." 

There  must  oe  something  under  the  surface  here.  If 
we  are  indeed  the  children  of  the  living  God,  is  it 
natural  to  suppose  that  he  would  leave  us  in  our 
lost  estate  without  some  intimation  of  his  love  and 
his  desire  to  save  us  ?  We  have  this  intimation  in 
the    universal  institution    of    sacrifice.     It  speaks  of 


YOM    KIPPUR.  31 

the  Lamb  of  God  slain   from  the  foundation  of  the 
world. 

In  the  ceremonial  of  the  great  Day  of  Atonement 
there  was  nothing  which  did  not  point  forward  to  the 
gospel.     It    was  a  great   prophetic    Ober-ammergau 
with  Jesus  at   its  centre  dying  for   the  world's   sin. 
We  note  here  three  objects  of  peculiar  interest.    First, 
the  high  priest  in  his  "  Garme?tts  of  Holiness."    He  who 
makes  atonement  for  sin  must  be  himself  free  from 
the  unclean  thing.     Where  shall  we  look  for  such  an 
one  among  the  children  of  men  ?     There  is  only  one 
in  all  history  who,  by  common  consent,  stands  clothed 
in    spotless  white.     Of  Jesus    it    is  written,    "  There 
was  no  guile  in  his  heart  ;  there  was  no  guile  on  his 
lips."      Second,  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice.      Death    for 
death  !     Life   for   life  !     Life  for   the   guilty  by  the 
death  of  the  innocent  !     And  the  substitute  must  be 
of  such   a  character  as   that  the  sacrifice  of  his  life 
shall  be  the  equivalent  of  the  indebtedness  of  all  sin- 
ners to   the  offended  law.     The  high  priest  sprinkled 
the  blood  seven  times  before  the  mercy-seat.     Seven 
times  in  token  of  completeness.     But  where  shall  we 
find  one  who  as  the  antitype  of   this  sacrifice  shall  be 
able  to   make   a  complete   expiation  of  the   world's 
sin  ?     He   must  be  infinite.     The  lamb  for  this  sacri- 
fice must  be  the  Lamb  of  God.     One   pang  in  the 
heart  of  Jesus  was  of  more  value  than  all  the  pains 
of  the  convicted   here  and  all  the  anguish  of  the  lost 
for  ever.     His  blood  is  of  infinite  value  in  this  atone- 
ment, for  he  was  very  God  of  very  God.      Third,  the 
scapegoat.     The  high  priest  having  laid  the  sins  of  the 
people  upon   the  head  of  the  scapegoat,  it  was   led 
forth  by  the  hands  of  a  fit  person  to  Azazel, — the  land 
of  separation.     Yonder  it  goes  along  the  mountain 


32  YOM    KIPPUR. 

path,  up  the  heights  further  and  further — the  people 
in  their  doorways  stand  shading  their  eyes  and  gaz- 
ing after  it,  further  and  further  until  in  the  dimness 
it  passes  from  view — and  with  the  scapegoat  has  gone 
their  sin  into  the  unknown  land.  So  Jesus  bearing 
the  burden  of  our  sin,  was  led  by  the  Spirit  out 
into  the  wilderness  and  along  the  dreary  path  of 
homelessness  and  friendlessness,  of  want  and  weari- 
ness ;  led  onward  still  to  the  judgment  hall,  to  Geth- 
semane,  and  up  the  heights  alone,  forsaken,  under  the 
dark  shadow  of  the  cross,  into  the  deep  night  that  en- 
folded it.  The  cry,  "  Eloi,  Eloi,  lama  sabachthani  ?" 
marked  his  coming  into  the  land  of  separation.  The 
cry,  "It  is  finished!"  was  uttered  when  he,  bear- 
ing upon  his  breaking  heart  the  burden  of  the  world's 
guilt,  passed  from  our  sight.  He  bore  that  guilt 
away  to  Azazel,  to  the  land  of  oblivion,  where  God 
has  put  it  behind  his  back,  to  remember  it  no  more 
against  us. 

III.  But  where  is  the  personal  facto7-  in  all  this? 
The  people  who  stood  round  about  on  Yom  Kippur 
were  all  with  one  consent  represented  in  the  service 
of  the  high  priest.  The  heathen  who  looked  on 
possibly  from  the  surrounding  hillsides  had  no  part 
nor  lot  in  it.  When  the  high  priest  laid  his  hands  up- 
on the  scapecoat  and  pressed  hard,  every  soul  in  the 
encampment  might  say,  "  He  is  laying  my  sins  upon 
it."  Christ  died  for  all,  but  the  great  sacrifice  is 
effective  for  only  such  as  have  a  personal  concern  in 
it.  The  benefits  of  the  atonement  are  conditioned 
upon  the  exercise  of  faith.  Only  believe  !  Faith  is 
the  hand  that  appropriates  it.  A  few  years  ago  a 
party  of  Americans  ascending  Mt.  Blanc  were  over- 
taken by  a  storm    and  lost   their   way.     Their  bodies 


YOM    KIPPUR.  33 

were  afterward  found  within  twelve  feet  of  a  place  of 
shelter.  Five  steps  would  have  saved  them.  The 
salvation  of  the  cross  is  nearer  than  that.  One 
step  will  save  us,  the  step  that  brings  us  face  to 
face  with  Jesus,  to  put  our  hand  into  his  and  commit 
our  destiny  to  him.  Here  is  the  one  thing  needful. 
The  eupreme  moment  in  the  history  of  every  sinner 
is  when,  knowing  his  sin  and  hearing  the  call  of  the 
Saviour,  he  answers  "  I  will."  It  may  be  that  some 
of  us  are  at  this  moment  standing  under  the  cross 
and  looking  upon  the  great  sacrifice.  All  that 
remains  is  for  us  to  say,  "  I  consent  to  it." 


THE  FALL  OF  THE  BASTILLE. 

"  The  Lord  looseth  the  prisoners :  the  Lord  openeth  the  eyes  of  the  blind  :  the 
Lord  raiseth  them  that  are  bowed  down." — Psalm  cxlvi.  7,  8. 

We  speak  of  the  philosophy  of  history,  and  the 
phrase  is  well  chosen  ;  for  history  is  not  a  series  of 
accidents,  but  a  chain  of  logical  sequences.  Event 
grows  out  of  event,  to-day  out  of  yesterday,  and  all 
are  linked  together  by  a  common  providence.  The 
Lord  reigneth  ;  men  and  nations,  generations  and 
aeons,  are  subject  unto  Him. 

One  summer  day  in  1572  the  Duke  of  Alva  and 
Catharine  de  Medici  met  on  the  border  of  Spain.  It 
was  a  famous  meeting.  These  two  were  come  to- 
gether as  the  agents  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church 
to  apportion  the  world  between  them.  To  the  Duke 
of  Alva  fell  the  task  of  subjugating  the  Netherlands 
with  their  Protestant  dependencies.  How  well  he 
fulfilled  his  appointed  task,  let  the  story  of  the 
Spanish  Fury,  the  heroism  of  the  Beggars  of  Hol- 
land and  the  glory  of  the  Dutch  Republic  attest. 
Catharine  de  Medici  took  it  upon  herself,  in  par- 
ticular, to  exterminate  the  Protestantism  of  France. 
Her  persistent  appeals  to  Charles  IX.  were  in  vain, 
however  ;  until,  at  last,  worn  out  by  her  impor- 
tunity, he  exclaimed,    "  The  order   of    extermination 

(34) 


THE    FALL    OF    THE    BASTILLE.  35 

shall  be  signed  on  one  condition,  to  wit :  that  no 
Huguenot  shall  survive  to  shake  an  accusing  finger 
at  me  !  "  The  awful  sequel  is  matter  of  common 
fame.  At  midnight  of  August  4th,  1572,  the  bell  of 
St.  Germain  rang  out  the  tocsin  and  the  city  was 
given  over  to  slaughter.  The  king  himself,  now  quite 
forgetful  of  the  claims  of  mercy,  stood  at  one  of  the 
windows  of  the  Louvre,  arquebuse  in  hand,  firing 
down  upon  the  inoffensive  Protestants  fleeing  for 
their  lives.  The  Duke  of  Guise  ran  madly  through 
the  streets,  leading  on  the  royal  forces  and  crying, 
"  Kill !  kill !  "  A  hundred  thousand  of  the  flower  of 
France  were  slain.  In  commemoration  of  that  night 
a  medal  was  struck  bearing  on  one  side  the  effigy  of 
an  angel  uplifting  in  one  hand  the  cross,  in  the  other 
a  dripping  sword  with  the  inscription  "  Strages 
Uge?iottorum,"  "  Slaughter  of  the  Huguenots  "  ;  on 
the  obverse  the  image  and  superscription  of  Pope 
Gregory  XIIT.  A  bloody  reckoning  was  made  that 
day  ;  the  years  must  atone  for  it. 

"The  mills  of  God  grind  slowly, 
Yet  they  grind  exceeding  small ; 
Though  with  patience  He  stands  waiting, 
With  exactness  grinds  He  all." 

But  despite  all  precautions  taken  to  prevent  the 
escape  of  a  single  Huguenot,  there  were  many  who 
remained  in  France.  Then  followed  a  hundred  years 
of  more  or  less  vigorous  efforts  to  remove  them. 
They  were  persecuted,  exiled,  put  under  the  ban, 
and  still  they  lived  and,  in  out-of-the-way  places, 
with  simple  rites,  worshipped  their  God.  One  by  one 
their  liberties  were  taken  away  until,  October  22d,  1685, 
occurred  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  By 
this  summary  act  the  last  remnant  of  the  charter  of 


36  THE    FALL    OF    THE    BASTILLE. 

Huguenot  freedom  passed  away.  The  Protestants  of 
France  had  no  longer  the  right  to  live.  Toll  the  bell! 
The  work  of  extermination  is  surely  accomplished. 
Yet,  not  so  ;  man  proposes  but  God  disposes.  The 
Huguenots  still  lived  and  the  black  clouds  of  retribu- 
tion were  gathering  fast.  The  last  chapter  was  not 
written  yet. 

We  now  come  to  another  of  the  momentous 
dates  in  French  history,  July  14th,  1789.  But  before 
noting  the  important  event  which  occurred  on  that 
day,  it  will  be  well  to  observe  that  the  French  people, 
not  merely  Protestants  but  the  people  generally, 
had  reached  the  extreme  point  of  misery.  For  a 
long  time  there  had-  been  ominous  mutterings. 
"Blood!"  "To  Arms!"  "Liberty,  Equality,  Fra- 
ternity," were  written  on  the  dead  walls  of  Paris  by 
unknown  hands.  Right  or  wrong,  the  people  were 
accustomed  to  associate  their  misfortunes  with  the 
Bastille,  the  royal  prison  in  which  many  of  the  truest 
patriots  were  doomed  to  a  living  death.  It  towered 
aloft  frowning  like  an  evil  spirit  in  their  midst. 
Not  a  few  of  the  devoted  friends  of  the  people, 
arrested  under  the  authority  of  Lettres  de  Cachet  had 
disappeared  under  that  portal  whereon  might  well 
have  been  written  the  legend  which  Dante  placed 
above  the  gates  of  the  Inferno,  "  All  hope  abandon, 
ye  who  enter  here  !  "  The  authorities,  apprehensive 
lest  the  fury  of  the  people  should  be  directed  toward 
the  Bastille,  had  recently  re-enforced  its  garrison  and 
furnished  its  magazine  with  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  barrels  of  gunpowder.  On  the  preceding  night 
the  people  had  assembled  in  multitudes  on  the  quays, 
on  the  bridges  and  along  the  boulevards.  There 
were  old  men,  women  wearing  red  caps,  many  driven 


THE    FALL    OF    THE    BASTILLE.  37 

desperate  by  hunger  and  want  and  unspeakable  hard- 
ships. At  daybreak  theory  was  raised,  "^ /</ ^dJj/'/y/*?.''" 
"^  la  Bastille  f"  But  they  had  no  arms,  nor  ammuni- 
tion. The  walls  of  the  great  prison  were  forty  feet 
thick  and  it  was  garrisoned  by  veterans.  The  mob 
surged  through  the  streets  to  the  Hotel-de-Ville, 
where  the  doors  were  battered  down  and  twenty- 
eight  thousand  muskets  secured.  Then  on  to  the 
Bastille.  Meanwhile  De  Launey,  the  warden,  had  not 
been  inactive.  He  had  loaded  his  cannon  with  grape- 
shot  and  dragged  six  cart-loads  of  paving-stones  to 
the  summit  of  the  walls.  He  stood  listening  now  to  the 
distant  murmur  in  the  town  ;  he  saw  the  black  mass 
approaching  in  the  distance  ;  heard  the  cry,  "^4  la 
Bastille/"  and  as  the  multitude  closed  in  about  the 
stronghold,  he  confidently  hurled  his  defiance  at 
them.  For  hours  the  multitude  raged  vainly  under 
the  towering  walls.  It  was  now  noon.  A  blacksmith 
named  Louis  Tourney  ran  toward  the  drawbridge 
with  hatchet  in  hand,  climbed  the  roof  of  a  guard- 
house, and  reached  the  great  chain  that  held  the 
bridge  ;  the  bullets  from  above  rained  thick  and  fast 
about  him  ;  he  began  to  hammer  at  the  chain  ;  pres- 
ently the  drawbridge  fell  and  the  mob  crossed  over. 
They  were  in  the  open  court.  The  firing  from  above 
was  met  by  firing  from  below.  De  Launey  being 
summoned  to  surrender  to  the  Citizens'  Guard, 
answered  with  renewed  defiance.  Straw  was  brought 
in  cart-loads  and  heaped  against  the  gates.  A  bat- 
tering ram  was  improvised.  At  half  past  five  o'clock 
there  was  a  great  shout.  The  gates  fell  in.  The 
Bastille  was  taken.  A  thousand  men  crowded 
through  the  great  gateway,  ten  thousand  more  push- 
ing from  behind.     De  Launey  had  seized  a  torch  and 


38  THE    FALL    OF    THE  BASTILLE, 

would  have  fired  the  magazine.  The  mob  required 
him  to  pass  with  his  torch  along  the  dark  passages  of 
the  great  prison.  One  by  one  its  gloomy  cells  were 
opened.  An  old  man,  bewildered,  tried  to  defend  him- 
self against  his  rescuers.  Another  invited  them  to  his 
hospitality,  proclaiming  himself  as  "  Master  of  Im- 
mensity." Still  another,  whose  beard  had  grown  to 
his  waist,  inquired,  after  the  health  of  Louis  XV.; 
reason  had  fled.  The  sight  of  these  wretched 
prisoners  still  further  inflamed  the  passions  of  the 
mob.  Women  with  knives  in  their  hands  fell  upon 
De  Launey ;  a  moment  later  his  head  was  raised 
upon  a  pike.  Out  from  the  portals  of  the  Bastille 
came  the  mob  bearing  seven  prisoners  on  their 
shoulders  and  with  eight  gory  heads  carried  aloft. 
A  messenger  made  all  haste  to  bring  the  tidings  to 
the  king.  "  Is  it  a  revolt?"  he  asked.  ''Nay,  sire," 
replied  the  herald,  "  it  is  a  revolution  !  "  And  indeed 
that  was  the  beginning  of  the  French  Revolution. 
God  is  a  sure  paymaster.  It  was  not  long  ere  Paris 
was  filled  with  carnage.     Its  gutters  ran  with  blood. 

At  this  time  Hannah  More  wrote  to  Horace 
Walpole,  "Poor  France!  Though  I  am  sorry  that 
the  lawless  rabble  are  trieimphant,  I  cannot  help  hop- 
ing that  some  good  will  arise  from  the  destruction  of 
the  Bastille."  We  can  now  look  backward  upon  this 
event  from  the  distance  of  a  hundred  years  and  it  is 
not  difficult  to  see  how,  by  the  working  of  divine 
providence,  great  good  has  resulted  from  it. 

I.  To  begin  with,  it  impressed  on  France  forever 
a  lesson  in  human  rights.  A  wide  gulf  had  been 
opened  between  the  aristocracy  and  the  people.  The 
superior  classes  claimed  everything  ;  the  unshod 
people  had  no  rights.     The    14th  of  July  was  a  great 


THE    FALL    OF    THE    BASTILLE.  39 

levelling  day.  The  life  of  Sombreuil  being  demanded 
by  the  mob,  his  daughter  cried,  "  Spare  him  !  He  is 
my  father."  His  life  was  spared  on  condition  that 
this  daughter  would  drink  a  cup  filled  with  the  blood 
of  aristocrats.  The  devoted  girl,  shuddering,  drained 
the  cup.  Horrors  like  this  were  the  inevitable  out- 
come of  long  centuries  of  sufferings  on  the  part  of  the 
down-trodden  people.  They  would  have  no  aristoc- 
racy save  that  of  worth  and  character.  The  echoes  of 
the  American  Declaration  of  Independence — all  men 
are  created  free  and  equal  and  with  certain  inalien- 
able rights — had  come  across  the  sea.  Over  in  Scot- 
land Robert  Burns  was  singing  of  the  dignity  of  man, 

"  A  prince  can  mak  a  belted  knight, 
A  marquis,  duke,  and  a'  that  ; 
But  an  honest  man's  aboon  his  might, — 

Guid  faith,  he  maunna  fa'  that? 
For  a'  that,  and  a'  that, 

Their  dignities,  and  a'  that  ; 
The  pith  o'  sense,  and  pride  o'  worth, 
Are  liigher  ranks  than  a'  that." 

n.  The  outcome  of  this  great  popular  upheaval 
was  ultimately  to  be  an  open  Bible.  It  was  four 
hundred  years  previous  to  this  event  that  Wyckcliffe 
had  translated  the  Scriptures  into  the  English  tongue 
and  had  said  to  an  opponent  in  public  controversy, 
"  If  God  spare  my  life,  I  will  cause  that  every  plough- 
boy  know  the  Scriptures  better  than  thou  knowest  it." 
Yet  in  France  the  Bible  was  chained  to  the  high  altar 
and  the  search-warrant  which  the  Lord  Himself  had 
put  into  the  hands  of  the  people — Search  the 
Scriptures,  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life — 
was  of  no  avail.  France  was  yet  to  learn  that  God's 
Word  is  the  franchise  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  free- 
dom and,  by  the  same  token,  the  guarantee  of  national 


4©  THE    FALL    OF    THE    BASTILLE. 

perpetuity.  The  corollary  of  the  French  Revolution 
is  the  French  Republic,  in  which  the  right  of  every 
man  to  search  the  Scriptures  for  himself  is  fully 
recognized.  The  glory  of  this  concession  is  yet  to 
come  in  the  flooding  of  the  nation  with  heavenly  light. 

III.  The  fall  of  the  Bastille  was  an  effective  blow 
for  the  enfranchisement  of  the  individual  conscience. 
Michelet  calls  the.  Bastille  "The  prison  of  thought." 
The  Church  itself,  as  France  knew  the  Church  in  those 
days,  was  largely  responsible  for  the  condition  of 
things.  It  was  the  logical  reaction  from  ecclesiastical 
tyranny  when  a  courtesan  was  enthroned  in  Notre 
Dame  as  the  Goddess  of  Reason.  No  God,  no 
Church,  no  Religion  !  Such  was  the  Revolution  from 
a  long-continued  system  of  clerical  repression.  All 
must  be  coerced  into  the  "  Church's  "  way  of  thinking. 
Oh  !  what  an  array  of  martyrs  would  pass  before  us 
if  all  those  could  be  marshalled  who  have  suffered 
from  that  holy  sophism.  Quakers,  Anabaptists, 
Covenanters,  Huguenots  and  Romanists  too.  Aye, 
for  there.have  been  Catholic  as  well  as  Protestant 
martyrs.  The  legend  of  the  French  Revolution  was 
"  Liberty,  Equality,  Fraternity  ! "  But  there  is 
another  legend  for  our  banners,  to  wit  :  Toleration  ! 
And  toleration  means  not  that  men  shall  surrender 
their  individual  convictions,  but  that  being  firm  in 
their  way  of  thinking,  they  shall  be  willing  that  all 
others  shall  be  equally  firm  in  thinking  another  way. 
There  are  bigots  in  every  denomination  of  believers, 
as  Thomas  Moore  says, 

"  For  mad  as  Christians  used  to  be, 
About  the  thirteenth  century  ; 
There's  lots  of  Christians  to  be  had 
In  this  the  nineteenth,  just  as  mad." 


THE    FALL    OF    THE    BASTILLE.  4I 

The  spirit  of  Christ  will  never  prevail  on  earth  until 
we  recognize  the  fact  that  loyalty  to  truth  does  not 
mean  the  repression  of  error  by  physical  force. 
Would  that  all  might  believe  as  we  do  ;  but  they 
have  the  right,  so  far  as  we  are  concerned,  to  believe 
as  they  please. 

IV.  As  we  look  backward  over  the  long  series  of 
bloody  events  in  French  history,  we  cannot  but  per- 
ceive that  truth  is  indestructible;  for  notwithstand- 
ing the  tremendous  efforts  made  century  after 
century  to  destroy  the  Huguenots,  they  still  live. 
To-day  the  descendants  of  those  who  were  slain 
in  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  scattered 
among  the  towns  and  villages  of  rural  France,  are 
stretching  out  their  hands  and  pleading  that  God's 
people  shall  come  over  and  help  them.  They  are 
indeed  a  feeble  folk  like  the  conies.  In  many  cases 
they  worship  within  the  ruined  walls  of  old 
Huguenot  sanctuaries.  There  are  not  many  mighty, 
not  many  noble  among  them.  They  are  without 
wealth  or  influence.  But  the  passion  for  truth  is 
strong  within  them  and  they  long  for  the  privileges 
of  worship  and  are  an  hungered  for  the  Word  of  God 

The  sad  story  of  the  Huguenots  should  inspire 
within  us  a  profounder  love  for  the  Gospel  with  its 
glorious  franchise  of  truth  and  freedom.  Let  us  be- 
lieve in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  justice.  Let  us.,be 
true  to  our  own  convictions  ;  steadfast,  and  yet 
generous  ;  eager  to  propagate  the  Gospel,  yet  kind 
and  tolerant  toward  those  who  blindly  reject  it;  and 
above  all  things,  now  and  ever,  let  us  have  faith  in 
God. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  ELECTION. 

"  The  secret  things  belong  unto  the  Lord  our  God  :  but  those  thinfrs  which 
are  revealed  belong  unto  us  and  to  our  children  for  ever,  that  we  may 
do  all  the  works  of  this  law."— Deut.  xxix.  29. 

The  pulpit  is  no  place  for  dreams  and  speculations. 
It  deals  with  the  great  verities  on  which  rests  the  as- 
surance of  the  endless  life.  Ours  is  a  utilitarian  age. 
It  has  been  said  truly,  "  The  age  of  apologetics  has 
gone  by  ;  the  day  of  dynamics  has  come."  No  truth 
is  worthy  of  serious  consideration  which  cannot  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  duties  and  responsibilities 
of  common  life.  It  seems  incredible  that  such 
questions  as  "  How  many  of  the  spirits  of  the  just 
can  stand  on  the  point  of  a  cambric  needle?" 
were  ever  seriously  discussed.  Yet  that  very  ques- 
tion engaged  the  minds  of  the  scholastics  in  pro- 
tracted controversy.  We  have  no  time  nor  disposi- 
tion for  such  problems  now.  Life  is  too  serious. 
Time  flies  too  fast. 

The  doctrine  of  election  has  been  the  theme  of 
much  unprofitable  discussion.  The  fallen  angels  in 
Paradise  Lost  are  represented  as  bewildered  in  the 
mazes  of 

"Fixed  fate,  free  will,  foreknowledge  absolute." 
But  this  doctrine  in  common  with  all  others  has  sub- 
stantial value  by  reason  of  its  bearing  on  the  duties 

(4») 


THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ELECTION.  43 

and  responsibilities  of  daily  life.  It  is  in  this  light 
that  we  desire  to  consider  it.  Let  us,  therefore,  pro- 
ceed to  indicate  certain  points,  with  reference  to  this 
doctrine,  which  may  be  regarded  as  reasonably  certi- 
fied and  of  practical  importance. 

I.  Election  is  a  fact.  It  follows  as  a  logical  se- 
quence from  the  belief  in  a  personal  God  :  for  a  God 
without  the  attributes  of  omniscience  and  omnipo- 
tence is  unthinkable.  To  say,  however,  that  all 
things  were  eternally  in  the  divine  mind  and  under 
the  divine  control  is  to  formulate  the  very  doctrine 
now  before  us.  Moreover  it  is  buttressed  by  the  con- 
tinuous testimony  of  Holy  Writ.  As  where  it  is  said, 
"  Ye  have  not  chosen  me,  but  I  have  chosen  you  " — 
"  chosen  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  " — "  elect 
according  to  the  foreknowledge  of  God."  "' And  we 
know  that  all  things  work  together  for  good  tc  them 
who  are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose.  For 
whom  he  did  foreknow,  he  also  did  predestinate  to 
be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son.  Moreover 
whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called  :  and 
whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified  :  and  whom 
he  justified,  them  tie  also  glorified."  Still  further, 
this  doctrine  is  sustained  by  the  universal  evangelical 
consensus  You  will  find  it  in  the  Canons  of 
Dort,  the  Westminster  Confession,  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles,  and  indeed, in  the  symbols  of  the  universal 
Church.  We  are  accustomed  to  draw  a  line  between 
Calvinism  and  Arminianism,  as  if  the  former  ac- 
cepted while  the  latter  rejected  this  doctrine.  In 
fact,  however,  both  alike  accept  the  doctrine,  but 
view  it  from  different  standpoints.  Arminians  say, 
God  foreknew  and  then  predestinated  ;  while  Cal- 
vinists  say,  God   predestinated  and  then    foreknew. 


44  THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ELECTION. 

But  practically  here  is  a  distinction  without  a  dif- 
ference, for  to  the  divine  mind  there  can  be  no  chro- 
nological sequence.  There  is  neither  "  before  "  nor 
"after"  with  Him  whose  lifetime  is  an  eternal  now. 
Foreknowledge  involves  the  absolute  certainty  of  the 
thing  foreknown,  equally  with  predestination. 

II.  Election  is  a  mystery.  God  would  not  be  God 
if  we  could  understand  him.  It  is  his  glory  to  con- 
ceal a  matter.  All  nature  is  full  of  mysteries.  A 
grain  of  sand,  a  drop  of  water,  a  grass  blade,  present 
problems  beyond  the  reach  of  the  profoundest  science 
or  philosophy.  We  do  not  reject  a  fact  in  nature  be- 
cause we  cannot  understand  it.  Why,  then,  under 
like  conditions,  should  we  reject  a  fact  in  the  province 
of  spiritual  things  ?  Nay,  rather  should  it  not  be 
supposed  that  in  the  realm  of  the  unseen  and  eternal 
mystery  would  be  more  abundant  than  within  the 
narrow  circle  which  we  can  reach  with  our  finger  tips  ? 
If  a  man  were  to  betake  himself  to  the  East  River  to 
fish  for  whales  with  a  pinhook,  we  should  know  him 
instantly  to  be  a  daft  Jamie.  But  what  of  the  man 
who  undertakes,  with  the  resources  at  the  command 
of  a  finite  mind,  to  fathom  the  unsearchable  depths 
of  the  mind  of  God? 

III.  The  doctrine  of  election  rests  upon  the  divi/ie  sover- 
eignty. Only  God  is  great.  Who  art  thou  that  re- 
pliest  against  him  ?  Shall  the  thing  formed  say  to 
him  that  formed  it,  Why  hast  thou  made  me  thus  ? 
The  prophet  Jeremiah,  bewildered  in  these  same 
premises,  went  down  to  the  potter's  house  and  saw 
him  working  a  vessel  upon  the  wheels,  and  the  work 
that  he  made  of  clay  was  marred  in  the  hand  of  the 
potter ;  so  he  made  it  again  as  it  seemed  good  unto 
him.     Then  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  Jeremiah 


THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ELECTION.  45 

saying,  "  O  house  of  Israel,  can  I  not  do  with  thee 
even  as  this  potter?  Behold  as  the  clay  is  in  the 
potter's  hands  so  are  ye  in  mine."  We  may  resent 
this  statement  of  the  truth,  but  we  cannot  disbelieve 
it.  God  is  an  absolute  sovereign.  Our  breath  is  in 
our  nostrils  and  our  wisdom  is,  in  comparison  with 
his,  as  the  glow  of  a  fire-fly  to  the  resplendence  of 
the  noonday  sun.  It  is  for  him  to  say  whether  he 
will  make  an  accounting  of  himself  to  us.  In  the 
last  reduction  we  know  him  by  his  name,  "  I  am 
that  I  am  !  " 

IV.  This  doctrine  is  not  incompatible  with  the  sover- 
eignty of  the  human  will.  If  God  is  sovereign  there  is 
also  a  real  sense  in  which  man  may  be  said  to  be 
sovereign  too.  He  was  made  in  the  divine  likeness 
and  the  similitude  rests  largely  in  the  independence 
of  his  will.  All  other  creatures  are  in  bondage  under 
law.  The  ox  grazes  where  God  bids  it.  The  sun 
goes  forth  out  of  his  chamber  to  run  his  race  without 
deviation  along  the  orbit  which  God  has  marked  for 
it.  The  sea  obeys  his  voice,  "  Thus  far  and  no 
farther."  Man  alone  can  listen  to  the  divine  command 
and  say,  "  I  will  not  !  "  By  virtue  of  the  divineness 
within  him  he  can  resist  God  and  disobey  his  holy 
will.  It  pleased  God  in  making  man  after  his  own 
likeness  to  put  it  beyond  his  power  to  compel  him. 
Wherefore  he  says,  "  Come  now,  let  us  reason  to- 
gether." And  the  Son  of  God  laments, "  O  Jerusalem, 
how  often  would  I  have  gathered  you  as  a  hen  doth 
gather  her  brood  under  her  wings  and  ye  would  not." 
Our  freedom  is  a  simple  matter  of  personal  conscious- 
ness. I  propose  to  lift  my  hand  or  drop  it.  But  be- 
fore doing  so  let  me  reflect  a  moment  :  no  doubt  it  is 
settled  in  the  divine  mind  already,  and  indeed  has  been 


46  THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ELECTION. 

from  all  eternity,  just  what  I  am  about  to  do  with  this 
hand  ;  yet  I  am  absolutely  positive  that  I  can  do  pre- 
cisely what  I  please  with  it.  Shakespeare  says,  '^  Our 
bodies  are  our  gardens,  to  which  our  wills  are 
gardeners  ;  so  that  if  we  will  plant  nettles  or  sow 
lettuce,  set  hyssop  and  weed  up  thyme,  supply  it 
with  one  gender  of  herbs  or  distract  it  with  many, 
either  to  have  it  sterile  with  idleness  or  manured  with 
industry — why,  the  power  and  incorrigible  authority 
of  this  lies  in  our  wills." 

V.  As  to  the  nexus  or  mode  of  reconciliation  between 
the  divine  sovereignty  and  free  will.  Where  is  it?  We 
plead  ignorance.  The  truth  is  paradoxical,  yet  both 
ends  of  the  paradox  are  true.  There  is  no  contra- 
diction between  them  ;  I  know  that  God  is  sovereign, 
I  know  that  man  is  free.  My  inability  to  dovetail 
these  complementary  facts  need  not  prevent  my 
believing  them.  A  railway  train  is  speeding  from 
the  west  towards  the  sea- board  at  the  rate  of 
sixty  miles  an  hour.  Not  knowing  how  the  loco- 
motive is  joined  to  the  loaded  cars,  I  call  to  the  en- 
gineer to  stop  and  let  me  see.  If  he  were  to  answer, 
it  would  be  in  some  such  way  as  this,  "I  cannot; 
business  is  too  pressing.  We  are  moving  the  wheat 
crop  of  the  Dakotas  eastward  to  feed  the  hunger  of 
the  world.  There's  a  coupler  here,  but  I  cannot  stop 
the  train  to  show  it."  God  is  saving  the  world.  He 
is  using  two  factors  in  doing  it, — his  own  sovereignty 
and  man's  consent.  I  cannot  see  the  coupler.  I  only 
know  that  omnipotence  goes  on  before  and  free  will 
follows  after,  and  that  they  work  together  toward  a 
glorious  consummation.  So  history  is  being  made 
and  the  world  is  being  restored  to  God. 

VI.  The  eternal  decrees  are  founded  in  absohcte  justice. 


THE  DOCTRINE  OF  ELECTION.  47 

Election  does  not  mean  arbitrary  choice.  God  is  no 
respecter  of  persons.  Shall  not  the  Lord  of  all  the 
earth  do  right  ?  There  is  a  reason  in  the  discrimina- 
tion made  between  the  elect  and  the  non-elect ;  and 
that  reason  does  not  rest  in  any  moral  difference  in 
the  souls  affected  by  it.  More  than  that  we  cannot 
say,  because  God  is  silent.  It  needs  scarcely  be  said 
that  the  infinite  God  has  a  right  to  be  silent.  At 
this  moment  we  are  criticising  one  of  our  local  mag- 
istrates for  what  appears  to  be  a  maladministration  of 
justice.  The  case  stands  thus  :  two  culprits  were 
brought  before  him  charged  with  homicide  ;  one  of 
these  culprits  is  now  breaking  stones  in  Sing  Sing, 
the  other  has  gone  scot  free  ;  at  the  trial  the  evidence 
seemed  to  be  equally  weighty  against  them.  The 
magistrate  says  only  for  himself  that  he  had  good 
grounds  for  discriminating  between  them  and  he 
promises  in  due  time  to  let  the  public  know.  Mean- 
while we  wisely  suspend  judgment.  In  like  manner 
the  Lord  has  declined  thus  far  to  disclose  the  reason 
for  his  seeming  partiality  in  choosing  some  to  eternal 
life  and  passing  others  by.  We  may  not  like  his 
silence  in  this  matter,  but  we  shall  probably  agree, 
that  we  are  entitled  to  nothing  more  than  a  definite 
assurance,  which  he  has  given  us,  of  absolute  justice 
in  the  matter.  It  may  be  that  sometime  we  shall 
know  the  rationale  of  the  decrees.  He  may  or  he 
may  never  reveal  it. 

VII.  The  divine  decree  has  filled  heaven  with  saints 
redeemed.  There  are  ten  thousand  times  ten  thou- 
sand and  thousands  of  thousands  in  yonder  world  of 
light  not  one  of  whom  went  thither  on  account  of 
personal  merit,  but  all  through  sovereign  grace.  The 
glory  is  all  ascribed  to  God. 


48  THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ELECTION. 

"  While  all  their  hearts  and  all  their  songs 

Join  to  admire  the  feast, 
Each  of  them  cries,  with  thankful  tongue, 

Lord,  why  was  I  a  guest  ? 
Why  was  I  made  to  hear  thy  voice, 

And  enter  while  there's  room. 
While  thousands  make  a  wretched  choice 

And  rather  starve  than  come  ?  " 

All  of  these  wer.e  born  not  of  the  will  of  flesh  nor  of 
the  will  of  man,  but  of  God.  Even  so,  Father,  for  so 
it  seemeth  good  in  thy  sight. 

"  'Twas  the  same  love  that  spread  the  feast, 
That  sweetly  drew  us  in  ; 
Else  we  had  still  refused  to  taste. 
And  perished  in  our  sin." 

VIII.  While  this  decree  has  filled  heaven  ivith  redeemed^ 
it  has  kept  none  out.  In  all  the  realms  of  outer  dark- 
ness there  is  not  a  single  soul  which  can  ascribe  its 
sorrow  to  aught  but  self-will.  There  was  a  time  when 
a  portion  of  God's  people  held  to  what  is  known  as 
the  "Decree  of  Reprobation,"  i.e.,  that  God  predesti- 
nated certain  ones  to  be  damned.  This  is  a  libel 
pure  and  simple.  God  foreordained  sin — and  nothing 
else — to  hell.  He  foreordained  unrighteousness  to 
the  fire  that  can  never  be  quenched  ;  but  if  the  sinner 
goes  out  into  eternal  shame  and  remorse  it  is  his  own 
doing.  The  sincere  lament  of  the  Holy  One  is,  "  Thou 
hast  destroyed  thyself  !  " 

IX.  We  find,  therefore,  in  this  doctrine  no  excuse  for 
inaction.  Let  us  be  as  rational  in  spiritual  matters  as 
we  are  in  the  common  things  of  life.  The  farmer 
who  goes  forth  to  sow  his  fields  knows  that  in  the 
divine  mind  it  has  been  predetermined  whether  there 
shall    be    a    harvest    or  not.     Yet   he    knows    that 


THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ELECTION.  49 

he  is  free  to  sow  the  seed  and  he  proceeds  to  sow- 
it.  Suppose  that  an  invalid,  presuming  upon  the 
fact  that  his  life  or  death  is  a  matter  of  certainty 
to  the  divine  mind,  were  to  refuse  the  medicines 
prescribed  for  his  cure — we  should  pronounce  him 
a  fool  and  prepare  the  crape  for  his  door.  But 
in  common  affairs  men  do  not  act  in  that  way.  We 
are  perfectly  well  aware  that  while  all  events  as  well 
as  our  eternal  destiny  have  been  divinely  foreknown 
and  predetermined,  yet  our  wills  are  quite  free  and 
everything  in  the  final  outcome  depends  upon  us. 
We  know  moreover  that  in  the  spiritual  province  one 
thing  is  settled,  for  God  has  distinctly  announced  it, 
to  wit:  If  we  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we 
shall  be  saved  ;  and  if  not,  we  shall  never  enter  into 
life.  The  part  of  a  wise  man  is  to  act  accordingly. 
"  Strive  to  enter  in  !  " 

X.  There  is  great  encouragement  in  tJiis  doctrine  to  such 
as  are  inclined  to  seek  their  oivn  eterfial  weal.  We  are 
not  left  to  our  own  weakness.  "  Work  out  your  own 
salvation  "  is  the  exhortation,  "  for  it  is  God  that 
worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own 
good  pleasure."  Is  it  not  inspiring  to  realize  that  in 
every  good  impulse  and  resolution  we  are  reinforced 
by  omnipotence  ?  "If  God  be  for  us,  who  shall  be 
against  us  ?  " 

We,  therefore,  ministering  in  his  name,  declare  to 
you  again  a  free  gospel.  "  Ho,  every  one  !  "  This 
gospel  is  buttressed  by  an  oath  and  an  invitation. 
"  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  I  have  no  pleasure  in 
the  death  of  the  wicked  ;  but  that  all  should  turn  and 
live."  "And  the  Spirit  and  the  bride  say,  Come. 
And  let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come.  And  let  him 
that  is  athrist,  come.     And  whosoever  will,  let  him 


50  THE    DOCTRINE    OF    ELECTION. 

take  of  the  water  of  life  freely."  I  exhort  you,  there- 
fore, to  "  make  your  calling  and  election  sure."  This 
is  to  be  done  by  a  frank  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  life-long  faithfulness  in  following  him.  Are  we 
questioning  whether  or  no  our  names  are  written 
in  the  book  of  life?  It  is  the  Lamb's  Book.  If  we 
have  a  personal  interest  in  the  atoning  work  of 
Christ  as  the  Lamb  of  God  slain  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world,  our  names  are  there.  If  not,  not.  And 
over  the  gateway  of  the  New  Jerusalem  is  written 
this  legend,  "  There  shall  in  no  wise  enter  here  any- 
thing that  defileth,  neither  whatsoever  worketh 
abomination,  or  maketh  a  lie  :  but  they  which  are 
written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life." 


WHY  WE  LOVE  THE  CHURCH  OF 

GOD. 

"  I  was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord." — 
Psalm  cxxii.  i. 

This  Psalm  is  entitled  :  "  David  professeth  his 
love  for  the  Church."  And  how  he  did  love  it  !  A 
wanderer  among  the  mountains,  he  mourned  for  his 
privileges:  "My  soul  thirsteth  for  God,  for  the  liv- 
ing God  :  when  shall  I  come  and  appear  before  God  ? 
When  I  remember  these  things,  I  pour  out  my  soul 
in  me  :  for  I  had  gone  with  the  multitude,  I  went 
with  them  to  the  house  of  God,  with  the  voice  of  joy 
and  praise,  with  a  multitude  that  kept  holyday."  All 
Israel  loved  the  sanctuary  in  their  exile,  they  hanged 
their  harps  upon  the  willows  and  wept,  remembering 
Zion  :  "If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem,  let  my  right 
hand  forget  her  cunning.  If  I  do  not  remember  thee, 
let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth :  If  I 
prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chief  joy."  We  are 
much  afraid  of  excessive  devotion  to  the  Church  in 
these  days,  as  if,  somehow,  our  Lord  were  disparaged 
thereby  ;  but  indeed  there  is  no  danger.  The  bride- 
groom is  not  jealous  of  his  bride.  We  please  Him 
when  we  sing 

"  I  love  thy  Church,  O  God  ; 

Her  walls  before  Thee  stand, 
Dear  as  the  apple  of  Thine  eye, 
And  graven  on  Thy  hand." 

(50 


52  WHY    WE    LOVE    THE    CHURCH    OF    GOD, 

I,  We  have  reason  to  love  the  Church  because  it  is 
the  peculiar  abode  of  the  Lord.''  This  will  appear  in 
many  of  its  titles,  as,  The  Church  of  God,  the  Abode 
of  Christ,  the  City  of  the  Living  God,  the  Holy  Hill, 
God's  Building,  God's  Husbandry,  the  Household  of 
God,  the  Mountain  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  a  City  not 
Forsaken,  the  Lord's  Portion,  the  Spiritual  House, 
Place  of  God's  Throne,  the  Temple  of  the  Living  God. 
It  is  true  that  the  Infinite  One  dwelleth  not  in  temples 
made  with  hands  ;  that  is  to  say,  His  presence  is  not 
exclusively  there,  and  yet  He  has  promised  to  manifest 
Himself  there  in  a  peculiar  manner.  Indeed,  the 
supreme  importance  and  significance  of  the  Church 
is  due  to  this  fact ;  it  is  Beth-el,  the  house  of  God. 
Its  history  could  be  written  in  a  series  oi  Theophanies 
or  divine  appearings. 

First  Chapter  :  "And  Abel  brought  of  the  first- 
lings of  his  flock  and  of  the  fat  thereof,  and  the  Lord 
had  respect  unto  his  offering  "  (Gen.  iii.  4).  "And  Abel 
obtained  witness  that  he  was  righteous  :  God  testify- 
ing of  his  gifts  "  (Heb.  xi.  4).  The  blood  streaming 
over  the  altar  testifies  to  the  coming  of  Christ,  and 
the  voice  from  heaven  assures  the  worshipper  of  the 
divine  presence  and  approval ;  God  is  there  and  that 
to  bless  him. 

Second  Chapter  :  "  The  Lord  said  unto  Abram, 
Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  father's 
house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  shew  thee"  (Gen.  xii. 
i).  In  obedience  to  that  voice  the  patriarch  went 
forth  with  his  household,  journeying  along  the  banks 
of  the  great  river,  heeding  the  divine  guidance,  and 
building  altars  wherever  he  went.  How  jealously 
the  angels  must  have  guarded  his  tent,  for  within  its 
fluttering  curtains  was  the    seed  and  promise  of  the 


WHY    WE    LOVE    THE    CHURCH    OF    GOD.  53 

universal  Church.  The  altars  which  the  patriarch 
built,  as  he  passed  on,  were  memorials  of  his  faith  in 
the  coming  Christ  and  the  voice  gave  constant  assur- 
ance that  God  was  with  him. 

Third  Chapter  :  "  And  Jacob  dreamed,  and  behold 
a  ladder  set  up  on  the  earth,  and  the  top  of  it  reached 
to  heaven  :  and  behold  the  angels  of  God  ascending 
and  descending  on  it.  And  the  Lord  stood  above  it 
and  said.  Behold,  I  am  with  thee.  And  Jacob 
awaked  out  of  his  sleep  and  said,  Surely  the  Lord  is 
in  this  place  ;  and  I  knew  it  not.  And  he  called  the 
name  of  that  place  Beth-el.  And  he  reared  a  pillar 
and  said.  This  stone  shall  be  the  house  of  God" 
(Gen.  xxviii.   12,  16,  19,  22). 

Fourth  Chapter:  "And  the  Lord  spake  unto 
Moses  saying.  Let  the  children  of  Israel  make  me  a 
sanctuary  ;  that  I  may  dwell  among  them"  (Ex.  xxv. 
I,  8).  This  was  under  the  shadow  of  the  flaming 
mountain  at  the  giving  of  the  law,  and  the  tabernacle 
which  was  then  constructed  was  after  the  pattern 
which  God  had  showed  Moses  in  the  mount.  Its 
plans  and  specifications  were  all  divine.  Its  posts 
and  curtains,  rings  and  staves,  spoons  and  dishes, 
knops  and  flowers,  candlesticks  and  snuffers,  were  all 
made  after  the  divine  pattern.  The  importance  of 
this  simple  fabric  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  it  occu- 
pies more  space  in  the  sacred  narrative  than  does  the 
creation  of  the  world.  It  was  "a  little  spot  enclosed 
by  grace  out  of  the  world's  great  wilderness."  At 
its  doorway  stood  the  brazen  altar  with  blood  stream- 
ing over  it  and  within  its  Holy  of  Holies  was  the  Ark 
of  the  Covenant,  above  which  rose  the  Shekinah  or 
luminous  cloud  which  was  the  perpetual  token  of 
God's  presence. 


54  WHY    WE    LOVE    THE   CHURCH    OF    GOD. 

Fifth  Chapter  :  "And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  four 
hundred  and  eightieth  year  after  the  children  of 
Israel  were  come  out  of  Egypt,  that  Solomon  began 
to  build  the  house  of  the  Lord  "  (I.  Kings  vi.  i). 
This  was  the  house  "exceeding  magnifical."  It  was 
reared  without  the  sound  of  hammer  or  of  axe. 

"No  workman's  steel,  no  ponderous  axes  swung; 
Like  some  tall  palm  the  noiseless  fabric  sprung." 

One  hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  workmen  were 
employed  upon  this  magnificent  edifice,  and  it  was 
seven  years  in  building.  As  in  the  tabernacle,  its 
architecture,  with  all  its  buildings,  were  after  a  divine 
pattern.  It  was  not  finished,  however,  until  the  Ark 
of  the  Covenant  was  brought  into  it.  The  king  sat 
in  solemn  state  at  its  dedication,  the  great  altar 
smoked  with  sacrifice,  the  Levites  drew  near  with  the 
sacred  symbol  of  the  holy  Presence,  chanting,  "  Lift 
up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye 
everlasting  doors,  and  let  the  King  of  Glory  enter 
in  !  "  Then  the  cloudy  Presence,  the  Shekinah,  filled 
the  house  so  that  the  priests  were  not  able  to  minister 
by  reason  of  it.  "The  Lord  is  in  his  holy  temple; 
let  all  the  earth  keep  silence  before  him." 

Chapter  Six  :  A  thousand  years  after  the  dedi- 
cation of  Solomon's  Temple  the  disciples  of  Christ 
were  come  together  in  an  open  court  in  Jerusalem  and 
were  praying  there.  Strange  things  had  happened  ; 
the  Christ  had  come,  had  lived  and  labored  and 
suffered  and  died  upon  the  cross.  At  the  moment  of 
His  death,  when  He  cried  "  It  is  finished  !  "  the  priest 
who  was  ministering  in  the  temple  on  Mt.  Moriah 
saw  the  veil  that  hung  before  the  Holy  of  Holies  rent 
from  the  top  to  the  bottom  as  by  an  invisible  hand. 


WHY    WE    LOVE    THE   CHURCH    OF    GOD.  55 

The  old  economy,  with  its  types  and  shadows,  now 
passed  away.  The  time  had  come  for  the  rearing  of  a 
new  and  more  glorious  fabric  on  the  old  foundations, 
to  wit,  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  while  the 
disciples  were  praying  in  that  open  court  in  Jerusalem, 
"Suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a 
rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house  where 
they  were  sitting  "  (Acts  ii.  2).  Thus  the  Holy 
Ghost  came  upon  them,  and  amid  the  wonders  of  that 
Pentecostal  occasion  the  Christian  Church  had  its 
birth.  In  the  simplicity  of  its  ritual  were  gathered 
up  the  sum  and  substance  of  all  the  elaborate  cere- 
monial of  the  old  Jewish  Church.  All  purifications 
were  briefly  set  forth  in  baptism  ;  all  sacrifices  in  the 
Lord's  Supper,  which  memorializes  the  death  of  Him 
who  was  sacrificed  once  for  all. 

The  Seventh  Chapter  of  ecclesiastical  history  is 
yet  to  be  written, and  the  old  dreamer  on  Patmos  out- 
lined it  in  prophetic  vision,  when,  looking  through 
the  open  windows  above,  he  saw  the  New  Jerusalem — 
gates  of  pearl  and  streets  of  gold  and  sea  of  glass  and 
multitudinous  worshippers  whose  voice  was  as  the 
sound  of  many  waters.  And  the  dreamer  writes,  "I 
saw  the  holy  city,  new  Jerusalem,  coming  down  from 
God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for 
her  husband.  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of 
heaven  saying.  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with 
men,  and  he  shall  dwell  With  them,  and  they  shalfbe 
his  people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and 
be  their  God"     (Rev.  xxi.  2,  3). 

II.  Still  further  we  love  the  Church  because  it  is 
the  rendezvous  of  saints.     Thither  the  tribes  go  up. 

At  the  time  of  the  great  annual  festivals,  Pass- 
over,   Pentecost,  Tabernacles,  the   thoroughfares  in 


56  WHY    WE    LOVE    THE    CHURCH    OF    GOD. 

every  direction  were  thronged  with  the  multitudes 
who  journeyed  to  Jerusalem  to  worship  God.  They 
came  from  every  part  of  the  Holy  Land.  There  was 
Asshur  from  the  Northwest  with  the  sheaf  upon  his 
banner  ;  there  was  Benjamin  from  beyond  the 
Cedron,  and  Dan  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Leb- 
anon, and  Ephraim  waving  his  standard  whereon 
were  the  horns  of  a  unicorn  ;  there  was  Gad  from  the 
fords  of  Jericho,  and  Zebulon  from  the  lake  region, 
and  Napthali,  the  hind  let  loose  ;  all  these  had  their 
tribal  quarrels  and  bickerings  and  marched  under 
their  own  peculiar  standards,  but  as  they  neared  the 
Holy  City  and  the  sacred  edifice,  they  folded  all  their 
banners  and  bowed  together  in  the  worship  of  their 
God.  In  like  manner  the  Christian  Church  is  divided 
into  its  various  denominations,  but  we  are  all  one 
under  the  aegis  of  a  common  devotion.  There  is  one 
Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of 
us  all. 

It  was  not  only  for  worship,  however,  that  the 
tribes  were  accustomed  to  seek  the  Holy  Place.  In 
times  of  great  danger  from  the  heathen  round  about 
or  from  foreign  incursion,  they  fled  thither  for  refuge. 
Jerusalem  was  almost  impregnable.  The  mountains 
round  about  were  natural  fortifications,  and  the  city 
itself,  builded  compact  together,  was  like  a  mighty 
citadel.  Zion  is  ever  the  defense  of  God's  people. 
We  may  be  weak  in  ourselves,  but  O  what  strength 
there  is  in  the  mutual  prayers  and  sympathies  of  the 
great  fellowship  !  What  inspiration  in  the  thought 
that  we,  who  are  individually  so  weak  and  fallible, 
are  held  up  in  the  mighty  volume  of  universal  suppli- 
cation. No  right-living  man,  who  aspires  after  char- 
acter, can  afford  to  forego  this  privilege  of  co-opera- 


WHY    WE    LOVE    THE    CHURCH    OF    GOD.  57 

tive  help.  There  are  ihose  who  suppose  that  the 
Church  is  an  association  of  persons  who  profess  to 
be  good  ;  but,  indeed,  we  are  in  the  Church  not  be- 
cause we  are  ourselves  perfect,  as  though  we  lacked 
nothing,  but  on  account  of  our  conscious  infirmity- 
We  know  that  we  cannot  stand  alone  ;  we  need  the 
fellowship.  In  Celsus's  famous  assault  upon  the 
Church  in  his  controversy  with  Origen,  he  said :  "  You 
are  a  company  of  profligates,  of  avowed  sinners,  of 
publicans  and  harlots.  Did  not  your  Master  say,  I 
am  come  not  to  call  the  righteous  but  sinners?" 
And  Origen  answered:  "  Aye,  the  Master  did  say,  I 
am  come  not  to  call  the  righteous  but  sinners — to 
Repentance."  That  is,  to  the  abandonment  of  sin, 
to  a  brave  struggle  against  the  world,  the  flesh,  and 
the  devil,  to  the  building  up  of  character,  to  the  life 
which  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  We  have  the  assur- 
ance of  our  Lord  that  being  in  this  goodly  fellowship 
and  trusting  wholly  to  His  sustaining  strength  in 
answer  to  prayer,  we  shall  be  held  as  in  the  hollow  of 
His  hand  and  no  man  shall  pluck  us  out  of  it.  Here 
is  the  secret  of  the  perseverance  of  the  saints.  God 
is  in  the  midst  of  Zion  and  her  citadel  is  impregnable. 
The  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  her. 

HI.  A  still  further  reason  for  our  devotion  to  the 
Church  is  because  it  is  the  seat  of  spiritual  power.  The 
arm  of  the  Lord  is  made  bare  in  Zion  for  the  deliver- 
ance of  the  world  from  sin. 

The  two  great  pillars  of  the  Church,  like  Jachin 
and  Boaz,  which  upheld  the  porch  of  the  temple,  are 
Truth  and  Righteousness,  (i)  The  Church  is  the  de- 
pository of  truth.  Where  else  have  the  great  doc- 
trines been  formulated  ?  We  believe  in  a  personal 
God.     We   believe   in   immortality,  and    life  and  im- 


58  WHY    WE    LOVE    THE    CHURCH    OF   GOD. 

mortality  are  brought  to  light  in  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
We  believe  in  the  Incarnation — the  Incarnation  has 
been  formulated  only  in  the  symbols  of  the  Church. 
We  believe  in  the  Atonement,  which  is  the  only 
rational  plan  ever  devised  or  suggested  for  the 
deliverance  of  a  soul  from  the  shame  and  pen- 
alty and  bondage  of  sin.  These  are  sublime  truths 
touching  the  solption  of  problems  which  reach 
out  into  the  eternal  ages  ;  and  for  the  formulation  of 
these  truths  the  world  is  indebted  to  the  Church  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  All  of  them  rest  upon  the 
Scriptures,  which  are  her  peculiar  heritage.  "  What 
advantage,  then,  has  the  Jew?  "  says  the  Apostle  Paul. 
"  Much  every  way  ;  chiefly  because  that  unto  them 
were  committed  the  oracles  of  God."  The  world  is 
to  be  saved  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching,  and  the 
centre  of  all  preaching  is  truth.  This  is  the  Archi- 
medean lever  which  is  to  lift  the  world  toward 
Heaven  and  its  fulcrum  is  the  throne  of  God.  (2) 
The  other  pillar  of  the  Church  is  righteousness. 
Righteousness  is  obedience  to  law.  The  summary  of 
the  world's  ethics  is  in  the  Ten  Commandments  and 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  they  are  the  peculiar 
possession  of  the  Church.  These  furnish  the  basis  of 
Christian  character,  beginning  with  the  pardon  of  sin 
through  the  blood  of  Jesus.  We  proceed  to  "  edifica- 
tion," literally  temple-building.  When  the  fabulous 
Amphion  played  upon  his  lyre  the  stones  came  from 
the  quarries  and  assumed  their  places  in  the  walls  of 
Thebes.  It  is  the  work  of  God's  Spirit  to  build  char- 
acter by  the  laying  of  grace  upon  grace,  until  we 
pardoned  sinners  shall,  under  His  gracious  influence, 
grow  unto  the  full  stature  of  manhood  in  Christ. 
The  sum  total  of  spiritual  power  is  comprehended 


WHY   WE    LOVE    THE    CHURCH    OF   GOD.  59 

in  these  two,  truth  and  righteousness.  If  we  seek 
the  great  energies  of  nature  we  shall  find  them  not 
amid  the  roar  of  the  tempest  or  the  rumble  of  the 
earthquake,  but  in  the  silent  operation  of  air  and 
light  By  the  forces  of  the  atmosphere  the  mountains 
are  being  slowly,  surely  rent  asunder  ;  and  the  sun 
sends  forth  its  influence  far  and  wide  so  that  nothing 
is  hid  from  the  heat  thereof  ;  it  holds  the  planets  in 
their  orbits,  swings  the  tides  to  and  fro  and  ripens 
the  harvests.  Thus  truth  and  righteousness  are 
calmly  at  work  in  the  spiritual  province  and  are 
destined,  ultimately,  to  restore  the  world  to  God. 

If  these  things  are  so,  it  behooves  all  Christians  to 
be  loyal  to  the  Church.  "  Pray  for  the  peace  of  Jeru- 
salem. They  shall  prosper  that  love  thee.  For  my 
brethren  and  companion's  sake  will  I  now  say,  Peace 
be  within  thee."  Is  it  not  an  uplifting  thought  that 
we  are  embraced  in  that  great  fellowship  which,  under 
various  names  the  whole  world  over,  is  engaged  in 
the  worship  and  the  service  of  our  common  Lord  ? 
In  great  cathedrals,  in  frontier  churches  by  the  cross- 
roads, and  under  the  banyan  trees  in  pagan  lands, 
they  are  bending  at  this  moment  in  devotion  to  Him. 
O  God,  enlarge  our  hearts  so  that  our  prayers  may 
embrace  them  all — all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
in  sincerity  ;  all  who  abide  within  the  confines  of  the 
Holy  Catholic  Church! 

And  what  of  those  who  abide  without  ?  Is  it  not 
a  dreary  thing  to  stand  alone  in  the  great  struggle? 
To  feel  that  you  have  no  part  nor  lot  in  this  great 
brotherhood,  this  co-operative  guild  of  prayer  and 
sympathy  ?  The  Ancient  Mariner  speaks  of  his  weary 
years  of  wandering  thus  : 


6o  WHY    WE    LOVE    THE    CHURCH    OF    GOD. 

"  O  wedding  guest  !  this  soul  hath  been 
Alone  on  a  wide,  wide  sea, 
So  lonely  'twas,  that  God  Himself 
Scarce  seemed  there  to  be." 

But  the  days  of  his  loneliness  are  over.  He  has  found 
the  pleasant  companionship  of  God's  people  and  with 
it  strength  and  comfort  unspeakable. 

"  O  sweeter  than  the  marriage-feast, 
'Tis  sweeter  far  to  me 
To  walk  together  to  the  kirk 
With  the  goodly  company  !  " 

The  doors  of  the  Church  are  wide  open  to  all  who 
have  accepted  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  Saviour  and 
Friend.  We  journey  to  the  place  whereof  the  Lord 
has  said,  "I  will  give  it  thee."  Come  thou  with  us, 
friend,  and  we  will  do  thee  good. 


CHRIST  AND  THE  BIBLE. 

"To  this  end  was  I  born,  and  for  this  cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I 
should  bear  witness  unto  the  truth.  Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth 
heareth  my  voice."— John  xviii.  37. 

What  is  your  idea  of  God  ;  that  is,  of  the  essential 
God?  Have  you  any  clear  conception  of  him? 
"  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  him  out  ?  "  Has  any 
one  at  any  time  seen  him  ?  How  shall  we  define  him  ? 
The  best  definition  of  God  is  this  :  "God  is  a  Spirit, 
infinite,  eternal,  and  unchangeable,  in  his  being, 
wisdom,  power,  holiness,  justice,  goodness,  and  truth." 
But  we  have  merely  exchanged  one  mystery  for 
a  bundle  of  mysteries.  For  every  word  of  your  defi- 
nition involves  a  problem. 

What  then  ?  Are  we  to  remain  in  ignorance  of 
God  ?  No.  He  has  been  pleased  to  reveal  himself 
to  us  ;  as  it  is  written  :  "  In  the  beginning  was  the 
Word,  and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word 
was  God  ;  and  the  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  us."  It  is  not  without  deep  significance  that 
Christ  is  thus  characterized  as  the  Word.  As 
language  is  the  medium  through  which  we  un- 
derstand one  another,  so  Christ  is  the  articu- 
late speech  of  God.  He  is  God's  Word  to  men.  If 
we  would  wish  to  understand  God,  we  must  look  on 
Jesus  Christ  ;  on  Christ  living,  dying  and  triumphing 
over  death.    In  him  we  behold  all  the  divine  attributes 

(61) 


62  CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE. 

and  through  him  we  make  the  acquaintance  of  God. 

Nor  is  that  all.  God  has  revealed  himself  also  in 
the  written  Word  which  is  the  complement  of  the 
incarnate  Word.  Each  of  these  is  theanthropic ; 
that  is,  divinely  begotten  but  humanly  born.  To  the 
viigin  mother  it  was  said  :  *'  The  Holy  Ghost  shall 
come  upon  thee  and  the  Holy  Thing  which  shall  be 
born  of  thee,  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God."  Of  the 
Scriptures  it  is  written  :  "  Holy  men  of  God  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  In  both  cases, 
whether  in  flesh  or  on  parchment,  it  should  follow 
that  the  Word  is  absolutely  true  because  it  is  begot- 
ten of  God. 

This  being  so,  we  should  expect  the  Incarnate 
Word  and  the  written  Word  to  be  true  to  each  other. 
Is  the  Bible  loyal  to  Christ?  Distinctly  so.  It  repre- 
sents him  everywhere  in  glowing  colors,  now  in  the 
manger,  now  as  a  wayfaring  man,  now  with  a  face 
marred  and  defiled  with  blood  and  spitting,  now  re- 
splendent with  the  heavenly  glory,  but  always  beau- 
tiful, chiefest  among  ten  thousand  and  altogether 
lovely.  It  nowhere  disparages  him.  It  nowhere 
calls  in  question  his  absolute  perfection  as  the  only 
begotten  and  well-beloved  Son  of  God.  Is  Christ  on 
the  other  hand  true  to  the  Bible  ?  How  does  he  re- 
gard it  ?    What  has  he  to  say  about  it  ? 

We  profess  to  be  Christians.  That  means  not 
simply  that  we  trust  in  Jesus  Christ  for  our  deliver- 
ance from  the  unquenchable  fire,  but  that  we  follow 
him  implicitly  in  all  things.  In  every  question  of 
truth  and  conduct  his  decision  is  supreme  and  ulti- 
mate for  us.  If,  therefore,  we  can  determine  what 
he  thought  about  the  Bible,  that  will  conclusively 
determine  our  opinion  of  it. 


CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE.  63 

At  this  moment  we  are  discussing  the  truth  of  the 
Scriptures.  On  one  side  a  small  minority,  for  whom 
eminent  scholarship  in  these  premises  is  claimed,  in- 
sist that  the  Bible  is  not  trustworthy  ;  that  it  is  a 
mingled  tissue  of  truth  and  falsehood  ;  that  consider- 
able sections  of  it  are  purely  fabulous  ;  that  whole 
books  are  downright  forgeries  ;  and  that  not  one  book 
of  the  entire  canon  of  Old  Testament  Scriptures  can 
be  relied  upon  as  absolutely  true.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  great  majority  of  God's  people  hold  what  is 
called  the  traditional  view,  to  wit  :  that  when  God 
produced  the  original  autograph  of  the  Scriptures 
through  his  chosen  writers,  it  was  true  ipsissima  verba  j 
that  in  the  transcription  of  many  centuries  a  few 
wholly  unimportant  and  insignificant  errors  have 
crept  in  ;  but  that  the  Scriptures  as  we  have  them  in 
the  received  version  can  be  absolutely  trusted  in  all 
points,  scientific,  philosophic  and  historic  as  well  as 
in  matters  pertaining  to  the  spiritual  life. 

How  shall  we  pass  upon  the  merits  of  this  contro- 
versy ?  For  those  who  profess  to  be  Christians  the 
way  is  clear.  If  we  can  discover  what  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  thought  of  the  Bible  and  said  about  it, 
that  must  determine  our  view.  As  followers  of  Jesus 
Christ  we  must  go  not  to  any  syndicate  of  so-called 
"  Biblical  experts,"  but  to  our  Master  himself  as  ulti- 
mate authority  in  this  matter.  When  he  speaks  the 
controversy  ends  for  all  who  love  and  follow  him. 

But  there  are  those,  strange  to  say,  who  are  un- 
willing to  concede  this.  They  say  "  Christ  had  his 
limitations."  It  is  granted  that  our  Lord,  in  subject- 
ing himself  to  the  conditions  of  our  earthly  life,  was 
pleased  to  lay  aside  the  full  exercise  of  his  divine 
powers  ;  he  held  his  omniscience  in  abeyance  and  also 


64  CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE. 

his  omnipotence  and  omnipresence,  but  at  any  given 
moment  he  could  summon  these  at  will.  His  limita- 
tions were  not  such,  however,  as  to  expose  him  to  the 
liability  of  error  or  to  the  danger  of  uttering  an  un- 
truth. To  assert  this  would  be  to  say  a  monstrous 
thing,  for  it  would  reduce  our  divine  Teacher  to  the 
level  of  Plato,  Mohammed  and  Joseph  Smith.  It  is 
manifest  that  this  position  is  not  possible  to  any  fol- 
lower of  Christ.  One  of  the  fathers  of  modern  Uni- 
tarianism  was  indeed  pleased  to  say  on  a  certain  oc- 
casion, when  remincied  of  a  divine  statement,  "I  am 
not  willing  to  receive  that  upon  the  authority  of  any 
such  person  as  God."  It  is  related,  also,  that  in  a 
recent  meeting  of  evangelical  ministers  the  question 
being  asked,  "  If  Moses  did  not  write  the  Pentateuch, 
why  did  Jesus  Christ  say  that  he  did  ?  "  a  voice  re- 
plied :  "  Because  he  did  not  know  any  better."  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  such  an  assertion  will  find  no  echo 
among  such  as  sincerely  profess  to  be  the  disciples  of 
Christ. 

As  if  to  anticipate  the  current  objection  to  his  tes- 
timony, on  the  ground  of  his  human  limitations,  it 
was  asserted  by  our  Lord  that  God  the  Father  was 
himself  responsible  for  all  his  teaching.  He  said  : 
"I  can  do  nothing  of  myself";  and  again:  "My 
teaching  is  not  mine,  but  his  that  sent  me  "  ;  and 
again  :  "  I  speak  not  of  myself,  but  the  Father  who 
sent  me  hath  given  me  a  commandment  what  I  shall 
say"  ;  and  again  :  "The  things  which  I  speak,  even 
as  the  Father  hath  said  unto  me,  so  I  speak  "  ;  and 
again  :  "  The  word  which  ye  hear  is  not  mine,  but  the 
Father's  which  sent  me."  So  that  to  question  the 
teaching  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  with  respect  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, is  not  merely  to  doubt  the  statement  of  one  who 


CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE.  65 

was  under  human  conditions,  but  it  is  to  call  in  ques- 
tion the  veracity  of  the  living  God. 

Let  us  proceed  now  to  an  enquiry  as  to  the  atti- 
tude of  Christ  toward  the  written  Word  of  God. 

I.  He  knew  it.  He  was  thoroughly  familiar  with 
it.  He  had  learned  it  memoriter  at  his  mother's  knee 
and  in  the  rabbinical  schools.  At  twelve  years  of  age 
he  was  able  to  discuss  with  the  religious  teachers  of 
Israel,  from  their  standpoint  in  the  Jewish  oracles, 
the  great  problems  of  the  endless  life.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  his  ministry  in  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth  he 
opened  the  book  at  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah  and  strange- 
ly enough  at  a  passage  which  the  destructive  critics 
have  refused  to  assign  to  Isaiah,  and  read  :  "  The 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor  ;  he 
hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted,  to  preach 
deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  recovering  of  sight 
to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised, 
to  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord."  In  his 
discourses  he  quoted  generously  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment ;  from  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers, 
Deuteronomy,  Samuel,  Kings,  Chronicles,  Psalms, 
Proverbs,  Song  of  Solomon,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel,  Daniel,  Jonah,  Micah,  Joel,  Zechariah,  and 
Malachi.     His  memory  was  saturated  with  it. 

II.  He  revered  the  Bible  as  the  Word  of  God.  We 
are  told  nowadays  that  in  order  to  arrive  at  an  im- 
partial judgment  as  to  the  meaning  and  truth  of  the 
Scriptures,  we  must  needs  dispossess  ourselves  of  all 
prejudgments  respecting  their  divineness  and  regard 
them  simply  as  a  book  among  books.  But  Jesus  was 
obviously  not  of  this  opinion.  It  will  probably  be 
conceded   in    most   quarters    that  he   was   himself  a 


66  CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE. 

"Biblical  expert";  yet  he  seems  never  to  have  dis- 
possessed himself  of  the  idea  that  the  Scriptures  were 
wholly  trustworthy  and  wholly  from  God.  To  his 
mind  the  Book  appeared  to  stand  alone  and  peerless. 
He  was  not  unfamiliar  with  rabbinical  literature  ;  he 
knew  about  the  Talmud  with  its  interminable  disqui- 
sitions on  truth  and  morals  ;  he  knew  the  Mishna  and 
the  Gemara  ;  but  he  never  put  these  upon  the  same 
level  with  the  Scriptures.  How  vigorously  he  de- 
nounced the  traditions  of  the  elders.  How  his  "  But 
I  say  unto  you  "  went  crashing  through  the  foolish 
fables  and  prescripts  with  which  the  elders  had  over- 
laid the  Word  of  God!  But  never  a  word  against 
the  Scriptures.  So  far  as  we  can  determine,  he  held 
the  "traditional  view  "  of  their  trustworthiness.  He 
spoke  of  them  not  as  "containing  "  truth,  but  as  be- 
ing truth  ;  not  as  "  containing  "  the  Word,  but  as 
being  the  Word  of  God. 

HI.  He  stood  voucher  for  the  Truth  of  its  most  dif- 
ficult parts.  It  is  a  strange  coincidence,  if  nothing 
more,  that  in  his  discourses  he  touched  reverently 
upon  those  very  portions  of  Scripture  which  are  most 
vigorously  assailed  in  these  days. 

As  to  the  Pentateuch,  he  not  only  endorsed  its 
trustworthiness,  but  repeatedly  referred  its  author- 
ship to  Moses.  As  where  he  asked,  "  Did  not  Moses 
give  you  the  Law?"  And  with  respect  to  Deuter- 
onomy, which  the  destructive  critics  have  pronounced 
to  be  a  substantial  forgery,  he  placed  a  peculiar 
sanction  upon  it.  In  his  temptation  in  the  wilder- 
ness he  repelled  the  adversary  on  each  occasion  by  a 
reference  to  Deuteronomy  :  "  It  is  written,  Man  shall 
not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  v/ord  that  pro- 
ceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God  "  ;  "  It  is  written, 


CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE.  67 

Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only 
shalt  thou  serve  "  ;  "  It  is  written,  Thou  shalt  not 
tempt  the  Lord  thy  God."  A  critic  of  the  modern 
school  has  recently  said,  "The  Bible  is  no  better  than 
a  mass  book  for  stopping  a  bullet,  nor  as  good  as 
holy  water  for  putting  out  a  fire."  But  our  divine 
Master  made  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  an  effective 
shield  against  the  missiles  of  the  adversary  and  put 
out  the  fierce  fires  of  temptation  with  waters  from 
"  Siloa's  brook  that  flows  fast  by  the  oracles  of  God." 

As  to  the  science  of  the  Scriptures,  our  Lord  en- 
dorsed the  cosmogony  of  Moses  and  those  early 
records  upon  which  rest  the  ethnology  and  philology 
of  our  time.  The  assault  upon  the  science  of  the 
Scriptures  is  by  no  means  recent.  Julian  the  apostate 
in  his  time  undertook  to  cast  reproach  upon  it.  But 
while  the  theories  of  "  science  falsely  so-called  "  have 
passed  through  kaleidoscopic  changes  along  the  path 
of  the  centuries,  the  Bible  holds  its  own.  And  when 
such  scientists  as  Dana,  Guyot  and  Faraday  assert 
its  substantial  truth,  we  do  not  feel  called  upon  to 
withdraw  our  faith  in  it. 

As  to  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament,  our  Lord 
put  his  distinct  sanction  upon  it  and  the  recent  re- 
searches of  archaeologists  have  furnished  a  cumula- 
tive confirmation  of  its  truth.  Prof.  Sayce  says  that 
no  less  than  seventy-seven  events  in  Assyrian  History, 
as  given  in  Scripture,  have  been  corroborated  by  re- 
cent excavations.  In  any  case,  however,  the  impor- 
tant fact  is  that  Jesus  Christ  never  called  these  his- 
toric annals  in  question,  but  positively,  as  well  as 
tacitly,  put  his  endorsement  upon  them. 

As  to  prophecy.  The  pastor  of  one  of  our  evan- 
gelical churches  has  said,  "  I  know  of  no  one  passage  in 


68  CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE. 

the  Prophets  which  can  certainly  be  said  to  point  to 
an  event  beyond  the  near  future  of  the  writer."  .If 
so,  then  Jesus  was  certainly  mistaken  when  he  said, 
"  Moses  wrote  of  me  "  ;  and  again,  "  These  are  they 
which  testify  of  me."  He  found  the  Old  Testament 
full  of  predictions  respecting  himself  and  his  re- 
demptive work,  and  of  predictions  pointing  to  history 
still  in  the  remote  future,  to  the  events  of  the  last 
days. 

As  to  those  particular  parts  of  the  record  which 
have  been  most  bitterly  assailed  by  the  modern 
school  of  critics,  it  should  be  enough  to  mention  our 
Lord's  reference  to  and  implied  endorsement  of  the 
story  of  Adam  and  Eve,  Abel,  Noah  and  the  Flood, 
Abraham,  the  destruction  of  Sodom,  Lot's  wife,  Jacob's 
ladder,  Moses  and  the  burning  bush,  the  manna,  the 
brazen  serpent,  David,  Solomon,  the  Queen  of  Sheba, 
Elijah  raising  the  widow's  son,  Elisha  and  Naaman, 
and  Jonah.  As  to  the  story  of  Jonah  in  the  whale's 
belly  our  Lord  adventured  the  truth  of  his  entire 
ministry  upon  it.  The  Jews  clamored  for  a  sign  ;  he 
said,  "  There  shall  no  sign  be  given,  but  the  sign  of 
Jonas  the  prophet  ;  for  as  Jonas  was  three  days  and 
three  nights  in  the  whale's  belly,  so  shall  the  Son  of 
Man  be  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  heart  of 
the  earth."  Yet  we  are  told  that  this  story  of  Jonah 
is  a  fable  pure  and  simple,  no  more  trustworthy  than 
that  of  Aladdin  and  his  wonderful  lamp.  To  what 
an  ignoble  climax  does  this  bring  the  confident 
challenge  of  Christ  ;  as  if  he  had  said,  "As  sure  as 
Aladdin  wrought  wonders  by  rubbing  his  lamp,  so 
surely  shall  I  bring  life  and  immortality  to  light!" 

At  this  point,  having   observed   our  Lord's  calm 
acceptance  of  the  truth  of  the  old  oracles  with  never 


CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE.  69 

a  word  of  depreciation  or  of  adverse  reflection  upon 
them  in  any  way,  it  will  be  profitable  to  mark  some 
of   the   statements    made  by  leaders   of  the    Higher 
Criticism  with  respect  to  the  same  book.*     We  begin 
with  Kuenen,  who  may  be  regarded  as  the  foremost 
among  them.     He  says,  with   reference  to  the  whole 
Bible,  "In  the   eyes    of  the   writers   everything   was 
subordinate  to  their  object,  so  that  they  often   sacri- 
ficed what  we  consider  very  important  interests  to  it, 
historical   truth,   for   example.     As  a  rule  they  con- 
cerned   themselves,  very    little    with    the    question 
whether  what  they  narrated   really  happened  so  or 
not.     This  is  why  the  Old  and   New  Testaments   are 
so  full  of  legends."     As  to  the  history  of  the  Patri- 
archs, "  This  legend  was  invented  by  the  writer  him- 
self."    "  We  no  longer  accept  his  statements  as  true." 
As  to  the  Flood,  **  We  cannot  give  any  high  position 
to   this  legend."     "The  Exodus,  the  wandering,  the 
passage  of  the  Jordan,  and  the  settlement  in  Canaan, 
as  they  are   described  in  the  Hexateuch,  are  simply 
impossible";  "The  representation  of  all  this  in  the 
Hexateuch  is  absurd";  "The  representation  of  the 
Mosaic  times  and  of  the  settlement  in  Canaan  which 
the  Hexateuch  gives  us  is,  as  a  whole,  contradicted 
by  veritable  history." 

Knappert :  "  The  Old  Testament  is  rich  in  legends 
and  myths.  We  may  take  as  examples  the  stories  of 
the  first  human  pair,  the  Fall,  Cain  and  Abel,'the 
Deluge,  the  tower  of  Babel,  God's  appearance  to 
Abraham,  and  Jacob's  wrestling.  These  stories  have 
no  historical  foundation  whatever  "  ;  "When  a  proph- 
et or  priest  related  something  about  bygone  times 

mywofd!^'*'**^  ^''°°'  ^'°^'  "°'^^'"'*  Osgoods^'lfonelovenjche  will  keep 


70  CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE. 

he  never  hesitated  to  modify  what  he  knew  of  the 
past,  and  he  did  not  think  twice  about  touching  it  up 
from  his  own  imagination,  simply  that  it  might  be 
more  conducive  to  the  end  he  had  in  view  and  chime 
in  better  with  his  opinion.  Our  own  notions  of  honor 
and  good  faith  would  never  permit  this." 

Wellhausen's  ''  History  of  Israel  ":  "  The  historical 
sphere  created  by  itself  is  nowhere  to  be  found  with- 
in actual  history.  Thus  it  holds  itself  in  the  air  by 
its  own  waistband  "  ;  "The  dislocation  of  the  narra- 
tive by  monstrous  growths  of  legislative  matter  is  not 
to  be  imputed  to  the  editor  ;  it  is  the  work  of  the  un- 
edited Priest  Code,  and  is  certainly  intolerable"; 
"  Lifeless  itself,  it  has  driven  the  life  out  of  Moses 
and  out  of  the  people,  nay,  out  of  the  very  Deity." 
"It  is  full  of  historical  fictions";  "  the  audacity  of 
its  numbers  is  not  proportioned  to  their  trustworthi- 
ness "  ;  "  all  confidence  in  it  is  lost "  ;  "  it  is  hard  to 
give  an  idea  of  its  pedantry,"  "  its  incredible  in- 
sipidity"; all  these  characteristics  are  shown  in 
Genesis  where  it  reveals  "its  horrid  scheming,*'  "its 
insipid  contemplation  of  nature." 

Dillman  :  The  Hexateuch  is  not  "  an  authentic 
picture  of  the  legislation  of  Moses."  "Where  the 
author  had  no  historical  accounts  he  sketches  freely 
an  imaginary  picture,  e.g.,  Noah's  ark,  course  of  the 
Flood,  tabernacle  (after  the  manner  of  a  movable  holy 
tent,  richly  furnished),  the  order  of  the  camp  and 
march,  the  determination  of  the  boundaries  of  the 
tribes  by  lot  under  Joshua,  the  numbers  of  each 
tribe  in  Moses'  day,  the  quantity  of  manna  that  fell, 
etc."     "These  are  not  to  be  taken  historically." 

Reuss'  "History  of  the  Old  Testament":  The 
Exodus,  "A  bald  fiction    is  the  tabernacle, the  camp 


CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE.  7I 

and  the  arranged  parade  march  in  the  desert,  the 
large  numbers  of  the  pretended  census,  and  many- 
other  things  that  exceed  by  far  the  old  sagas,  and  are 
really  not  sagas  of  the  early  days  but  dreams  of  an 
impoverished  generation." 

Holzinger's  "  Introduction  to  Hexateuch  ":  "  The 
most  numerous  and  worst  possibilities  in  the  Hexa- 
teuch are  from  the  sagas"  ;  "the  whole  chronology 
of  the  earliest  history  is  worthless";  "  its  name-lists 
are  bare-faced  inventions  "  ;  it  abounds  in  "  gross, 
sheer,  mechanically  enlarged  miracles"  ;  "its  histori- 
cal presuppositions  of  the  giving  of  the  law  are 
whimsies  that  force  a  smile  "  ;  "  the  old  idea  of  in- 
spiration is  impossible  with  this  hypothesis." 

Smend's  "  History  of  Old  Testament  Religion"  : 
"  It  seems  almost  a  silly  trick  when  the  author  of  the 
Priest  Code  makes  the  Sabbath  a  duty  because  God 
rested  on  that  day  "  ;  "  prophetic  inspiration,  in  the 
Hebrew  idea,  did  not  mean  anything  peculiar  "  ;  "  the 
Israelities  received  the  Sabbath  from  the  Canaanites  "  ; 
"the  representation  of  the  Pentateuch  proves  itself 
not  historical";  "the  lawgiver  of  the  Pentateuch 
certainly  was  not  Moses  "  ;  "a  heathen  myth  is  the 
substance  of  Genesis  i.,  a  product  of  Babylonian 
science  ";"  the  life  of  Abraham  is  unthinkable  and 
false  "  ;  "there  was  no  covenant  of  God  with  Abra- 
ham. That  was  the  invention  of  a  later  age  and 
dated  back." 

Piepenbring's  "Theology  of  the  Old  Testament"  : 
"The  Priest  Code,  the  heart  of  the  Pentateuch,  is 
legend,  myth,  saga,  tradition,  and  not  trustworthy,  a 
proved  historical  fiction,  bald,  transparent  fiction, 
artifice,  fantasy,  false  history,  whimsies  that  force  a 
smile,  absurd,  impossible,    contradictory  and    incon- 


72  CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE. 

ceivable,    unthinkable    and    false,    a    bare-faced    in- 
vention." 

Riehm's  "  Introduction  to  Old  Testament  ":  "  Not 
only  did  the  authors  of  the  Pentateuch  compose  the 
speeches  of  the  actors,  as  freely  as  Thucydides  or 
Livy,  but  they  also  gave  themselves  to  more  or  less 
free  reconstruction  of  the  popular  tradition "  ; 
"Either  this  history  must  have  been  given  to  the 
narrators  by  revelation,  or  by  historical  archives  in 
addition  to  the  popular  saga.  Neither  is  the  fact  "  ; 
"Their  peculiar  character  makes  on  the  unprejudiced 
mind  the  clear  impression  that  they  are  not  history 
but  saga." 

In  commenting  upon  an  imposing  array  of  such 
statements  from  the  leaders  of  the  Higher  Criticism, 
Prof.  Osgood  wisely  says,  '■'■  It  is  not  possible  on  any  theory 
to  avoid  the  real  issue.  If  this  criticistn  {i.e.,  the  Higher 
Criticisvi)  is  true.,  Christ  was  the  greatest  of  false  prophets 
and  deceivers.  If  Christ  taught  God's  truth,  this  criticistn 
is  absolutely  false." 

'  IV.  Our  Lord  made  use  of  the  Scriptures  in  his  per- 
sonal life.  He  lived  by  them.  In  hours  of  weariness, 
of  stern  struggle  and  suffering  in  the  wilderness,  in 
his  missionary  journeys,  and  in  the  anguish  of  the 
cross,  he  drank  from  them  as  from  a  brook  by  the 
way. 

And  he  commended  these  Scriptures  to  us  for 
practical  use.  He  said  :  "  Search  the  Scriptures  for  in 
them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life  and  these  are  they 
which  testify  of  me."  (i)  Search  them.  How  shall 
we  search  them  ?  If  we  are  desirous  of  knowing  the 
full  meaning  of  a  penitent's  tear,  we  would  scarcely 
proceed  by  making  a  chemical  analysis  of  it.  If  we 
wish  to  understand  the  song  of  a  sky-lark,  we  do  not 


CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE.  73 

dissect  its  throat,  but  watch  it  when  it  rises  from  the 
meadow  on  a  dewy  morning  and  listen  while  it  pours 
out  its  melodious  soul  on  its  upward  way.  To  un- 
derstand the  brain  of  Milton  we  do  not  ask  an  anato- 
mist to  tell  us  of  its  gray  matter  and  phosphorus,  but 
we  listen  to  the  poet  as,  in  Paradise  Lost,  he  tells  of 
visions  seen  through  heaven's  open  gates.  Search 
the  Scriptures,  in  like  manner,  reverently  as  if  for 
hid  treasure.  (2)  And  apply  them  ;  for  in  them  we 
rightly  think  we  have  eternal  life.  Here  is  our 
salvation  in  the  story  of  the  cross.  Here,  also,  is  the 
material  for  our  sanctification.  The  old-fashioned 
Book  is  a  quarry  of  unhewn  stone  waiting  to  be  cut 
and  laid  in  the  splendid  fabric  of  character.  "  Sancti- 
fy them  by  thy  truth,"  prayed  Jesus  for  his  disciples 
and  added,  "Thy  word  is  truth."  Here,  also,  is  our 
commission  for  service.  The  Scriptures  are  our 
sealed  orders  where  each  for  himself  must  read  what 
the  Master  would  have  him  do  for  the  upbuilding  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God. 

I  offer,  not  without  reluctance,  a  page  from  my 
personal  history  with  which  to  close  this  earnest 
word  in  behalf  of  the  blessed  Book.  One  of  the 
earliest  memories  of  my  boyhood  is  of  a  dear  father 
whose  faith  was  for  many  years  reposed  in  Paine's 
"Age  of  Reason."  One  winter's  day  as  I  stood  beside 
my  mother's  knee,  he  entered  the  room  with  that, 
book  in  his  hand  and,  throwing  it  into  the  fire,  said 
simply,  "Wife,  there's  an  end  of  it."  That  night  he 
took  down  the  old  family  Bible  and  gathered  his  sons 
and  daughters  about  him  for  prayer.  His  last  years 
were  spent  in  simple  faith  in  the  veracity  of  God's 
Word.  On  my  leaving  home  to  attend  school  his  last 
injunction  was,  "  Be  true  to  the  Good  Book."     Long 


74  CHRIST    AND    THE    BIBLE. 

afterward,  when  I  was  summoned  by  telegraph  to 
come  and  pray  with  him  in  his  last  illness,  on  enter- 
ing the  room,  I  said  :  "  Father,  it's  too  bad  that  an  old 
man  should  suffer  so  at  the  last."  He  answered,  "  My 
son,  bring  the  Book"  ;  and  I  brought  it,  and  by  his 
direction  read  from  the  eighth  chapter  of  Romans 
until  I  came  to  the  place  where  it  is  written  :  "  I 
reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not 
worthy  to  be  compared  to  the  glory  which  shall  be 
revealed  in  us."  There  he  bade  me  pause  and  left 
that  bequest  with  me.  In  memory,  not  only  of  that 
venerable  saint,  but  of  ten  thousand  times  ten  thou- 
sand who  like  him  have  "known  their  Bibles  true,'' 
who  have  found  them  trustworthy  in  their  pains  and 
troubles,  and  a  staff  to  lean  upon  in  the  valley  of 
the  shadow,  nay,  more  in  reverence  of  the  great 
Teacher  who  alway  believed  it,  devoutly  preached 
it,  and  never  in  word  or  syllable,  in  hint  or  sugges- 
tion, ever  disparaged  it,  I  bid  you  also  have  confi- 
dence in  the  Scriptures.     Be  true  to  the  Word  of  God. 


IS  JESUS  THE  CHRIST? 

"  Art  thou  he  that  should  come  ?  or  look  we  for  another  ?  "—Luke  vii.  19. 

The  solidarity  of  the  race  is  approved  by  a  curi- 
ous agreement  among  all  nations  as  to  certain  funda- 
mental facts.  One  of  these  is  the  garden  of  Eden 
with  Adam  and  Eve — whether  under  that  name  or 
not,  is  unimportant — sinless  and  happy,  walking 
with  God  in  the  cool  of  the  day.  Then  something 
happens— call  it  "The  Fall  "  or  whatever  you  please 
— a  catastrophe  by  which  man  is  driven  from  the 
Garden  and  exposed  to  all  the  sorrows  which  attend 
on  sin. 

Just  here,  however,  there  comes  in  a  universal  hope 
of  deliverance.  All  the  false  religions,  as  well  as 
the  true,  point  to  a  coming  One  who  shall  overthrow 
the  adversary  and  restore  the  race  to  its  original 
estate.  The  Greek  told  of  Soter;  the  Romans  of  Her- 
cules, who  killed  the  dragon  that  watched  the  apple  in 
the  Garden  of  Hesperides  ;  the  Persians  of  Sosiosh, 
who  was  to  settle  the  controversy  between  Ormuzd  the 
Good,  and  Ahriman  the  Black,  and  so  bring  ultimate 
happiness  to  all  ;  the  Hindoos  of  Vishnu  planting 
his  foot  upon  the  serpent's  head  ;  the  Egyptians  of 
Osiris  going  down  to  Hell  to  subdue  the  Evil  One. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  the  Jewish  Scrip- 
tures are  full  of  this  prophecy.  No  sooner  had  man 
fallen  than  the  protevangel  came,  to-wit :  "The  seed 

(75) 


76  IS   JESUS    THE    CHRIST  ? 

of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head "  ;  a 
dim  prophecy  at  first,  but  growing  brighter  and 
brighter  with  each  succeeding  seer  until  in  Isaiah  we 
behold  this  deliverer  of  royal  blood  and  majestic  pres- 
ence, his  visage  "  so  marred,  more  than  any  man's  " 
and  tottering  under  the  burden  of  the  world's  sin. 

If  these  prophecies,  with  all  the  legends  and 
traditions  of  the  false  religions,  and  all  the  indistinct 
but  universal  Messianic  hopes  and  longings  of  the 
soul,  were  combined  into  a  composite  photograph 
they  would  make  an  exact  portrait  of  Jesus  the 
Christ. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  Era  there  was 
a  wide-spread  feeling  that  the  fulness  of  time  had 
come  for  the  appearing  of  this  expected  One.  All 
nations  seem  to  have  been  on  the  qui  vive.  The 
Persian  magi  were  watching  the  stars.  It  was  at 
this  time  that  Virgil  wrote  his  famous  Eclogue  on  the 
birth  of  a  son  to  the  consul  Pollio  : 

"The  last  great  age,  foretold  by  sacred  rhymes, 
Renews  i  s  finished  course  ;  Saturnian  times 
Roll  round  again  ;  and  mighty  years,  begun 
From  their  first  orb,  in  radiant  circles  run. 
The  base,  degenerate,  iron  offspring  ends, 
A  golden  progeny  from  heaven  descends.   .  .  . 
See  laboring  Nature  calls  thee  to  sustain 
The  nodding  frame  of  heaven  and  earth  and  main  ! 
See  to  their  base  restored  earth,  seas,  and  air. 
And  joyful  ages  from  behind  in  crowding  ranks  appear." 

The  general  expectancy  may  be  perceived  in  the  fact 
that  at  this  time  there  were  no  less  than  fifty-eight 
spurious  Messiahs.  The  claims  of  all  these,  however, 
were  quickly  dissipated  and  only  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
has  been  left  to  receive  the  cumulative  homage  of 
succeeding  generations  as  the  Christ  of  God. 


IS    JESUS   THE    CHRIST  ?  77 

John  the  Baptist  was  a  prisoner  in  Machaerus,  a 
dreary  castle  overlooking  the  Dead  Sea.  His  race 
was  run.  He  had  served  as  the  forerunner  of  Jesus, 
saying,  "  There  cometh  one  after  me  whose  shoe's 
latchet  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose.  He  shall  in- 
crease but  I  shall  decrease.  Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God  !  "  In  his  prison  he  heard  of  the  discourses  of 
Jesus,  how  he  rejected  the  Jewish  traditions,  how 
he  cast  aside  the  fetters  of  the  ceremonial  law.  He 
was  alone  and  despondent.  "The  eye  of  the  caged 
eagle  was  dimmed."  Was  it  strange  if  in  this  ex- 
igency his  faith  failed  him  ?  So  he  sent  two  of  his 
disciples  to  Jesus  to  ask,  "  Art  thou  he  that  should 
come  ?  or  look  we  for  another  ?  " 

The  problem  of  Messiah  is  the  problem  of  the 
ages.  Jesus  is  the  claimant.  Is  this  Jesus  the  Christ 
or'  not  ?  All  earnest  souls  are  interested  in  this 
query. 

"  We  walk  at  high  noon,  and  the  bells 
Call  to  a  thousand  oracles, 
But  the  sound  deafens,  and  the  light 
Is  stronger  than  our  dazzled  sight  ; 
The  letters  of  the  sacred  Book 
Glimmer  and  swim  beneath  our  look  ; 
Still  struggles  in  the  Age's  breast 
With  deepening  agony  of  quest 
The  old  entreaty  :   '  Art  thou  he. 
Or  look  we  for  the  Christ  to  be  ? '  " 

A  weaver  who  had  made  an  elaborate  piece  of 
tapestry  hung  it,  stretched  upon  the  tenter-hooks, 
in  his  yard.  That  night  it  was  stolen.  A  piece  of 
tapestry  was  found  by  the  officers  which  seemed  to 
answer  the  description,  but  as  the  pattern  was  not 
unlike  that  of  other  fabrics,  there  must  be  definite 


78  IS    JESUS    THE    CHRIST  ? 

proof.  It  was  brought  to  the  weaver's  yard  and 
there  the  perforations  in  the  fabric  were  found  to 
correspond  precisely  to  the  tenter-hooks.  This  was 
demonstration.  In  like  manner  if  we  place  the  life 
and  character  of  Jesus  over  against  all  prophecies  of 
Messiah  in  Scripture,  in  the  sacred  books  of  the  false 
religions,  and  in  the  universal  longings  of  the  race, 
we  shall  find  that  there  is  a  perfect  correspondence 
point  by  point.  If  this  shall  indeed  prove  to  be  the 
fact,  we  should  feel  justified  in  saying  that  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  is  indeed  the  long-looked-for  Messiah,  the 
Christ  of  God. 

I.  His  birth.  It  is  everywhere  agreed  in  these 
legends  and  prophecies  that  the  Messiah  must  be 
God-man.  He  must  be  capable  of  suffering  in  order 
that  he  may  deliver  the  race  from  the  penalty  of  sin. 
The  thought  of  suffering  is  set  forth  in  all  sacrifices. 
Every  hope  of  the  Messiah  on  earth  is  stained  with 
blood.  The  Greeks  called  it  ichor j  a  superior  kind 
of  blood. 

God  cannot  suffer,  for  he  has  "  neither  body, 
parts  nor  passions."  The  Messiah  must,  therefore, 
be  man  in  order  that  he  may  be  capable  of  pain. 
But  he  must  be  God,  also,  to  the  end  that  he  may 
suffer  enough  to  atone  for  all  ages  and  generations 
of  the  children  of  men.  This  is  the  basis  of  Anselm's 
famous  argument.  Cur  Dcus  Homo.  The  Messiah 
must  in  his  nature  be  like  Jacob's  Ladder  ;  his 
humanity  resting  upon  the  earth  and  his  divinity 
taking  hold  upon  the  throne  of  God.  At  this  point 
Jesus  meets  the  requirement.  Of  him  it  had  been 
prophesied,  "  A  virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  son 
and  call  his  name  Emmanuel,  which  being  inter- 
preted is,  God  with  us." 


IS    JESUS    THE    CHRIST  ?  79 

II.  His  character.     The  One  who  is  to  deliver  the 
race  from  its  sin  must  himself  be  sinless.     But  where 
shall  such  an  One  be  found  ?     We  peer,  by  the  light 
of  Diogenes'  lantern,  into  all   human    faces   in  vain. 
There   is   none  that  doeth  good,  no,  not  one.     Here 
Jesus   of   Nazareth  is   unique.      He    shows    no    con- 
sciousness   of   sin,  utters    no    cry  of   penitence,   and 
betrays  no    concern  for  his  own  salvation.     On   the 
other  hand  he  challenges  the  world  to  find  a  joint  in 
the  harness  of  his  perfect  righteousness.    The  school- 
men of  the  Middle  Ages  discussed  at  great  length 
the  question  whether  he  was  "  not  able  to  sin  or  able 
not  to    sin  "  ;    but    they    never    suggested    that    he 
sinned.     The   judge    who    delivered    him    to    death 
brought  him  out  to  Gabbatha  and  said  to  the  people, 
"I  find  no  fault  in  him  at  all."     The  centurion,  who 
had    charge   of    his   execution,    was    moved    to   cry, 
"  Verily,  this  was  a  righteous  man  !  " 
{/'         III.  His  preaching.     The  general    feeling  was,  as 
the  woman  of  Samaria  said,  "  That  the  Messiah,  when 
he   Cometh,  would    tell    us   all    things."     He  was  to 
solve  the  great  questions  of  duty  and  destiny.     The 
carpenter   of    Nazareth    did    this.     He    touched    the 
great  problems  of  the  eternal  life  with  a  bold  hand. 
He  taught  not  as  the  scribes  but  with  authority.     He 
untied  knots  that  had  defied  all  the  Athenian  schools. 
The  sermons  of   others  die   by  limitation.     Origen, 
Tertullian,  Chrysostom,  their  voices  have  left  only'a 
lingering  echo.     But  the  discourses  of  Jesus,  his  ser- 
mon  to  Nicodemus,  his    sermon    on  the  mount,  his 
sermon  at  the  well,  his  sermon  in  the   plain,  his  ser- 
mon in  the  upper  chamber,  his  sermon  on  the  mount 
of  ascension  are  still  "burning  thoughts  in  breathing 
words,"  and  they  flame  around  the  world.    A  detach- 


8o  IS   JESUS    THE    CHRIST  ? 

ment  of  Roman  soldiers  was  sent  to  arrest  him  as  he 
was  once  teaching  in  Solomon's  porch.  They  listened 
for  a  time  and  were  amazed  and  benumbed.  On  re- 
turning without  their  prisoner,  they  were  asked, 
"  Why  have  ye  not  brought  him  ?  "  A  strange 
answer  was  this,  "  Never  man  spake  like  this  man  !  " 

IV.  His  tniracles.  These  were  unlike  all  other 
miracles.  Not  only  in  their  beneficence,  but  in  the 
fact  that  they  were  all  symbolical  of  spiritual  truth. 
The  opening  of  blind  eyes  set  forth  the  power  of 
Jesus  to  enable  the  soul  to  see  spiritual  things.  The 
wiping  away  of  the  leper's  spots  was  an  apologue  of 
the  power  of  the  gospel  to  deliver  the  soul  from  the 
defilement  of  sin.  The  healing  of  the  paralytic  gave 
assurance  that  Jesus  could  energize  the  palsied  will  ; 
and  the  raising  of  Lazarus  was  but  a  shadow  picture 
of  what  the  Mighty  One  is  ever  doing  in  bringing 
forth  those  who  are  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  from 
the  dark  sepulchre  of  an  endless  despair  into  new- 
ness of  life.  The  messengers  whom  John  the  Baptist 
sent  to  ask,  "Art  thou  he  that  should  come  ?  or  look 
we  for  another?"  were  told  to  stand  aside  and  see 
what  they  should  see.  Then,  after  he  had  wrought 
wonders  before  them,  he  said,  "  Go,  tell  John  what 
ye  have  seen  ;  how  that  the  blind  see,  the  lame  walk, 
the  lepers  are  cleansed,  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are 
raised,  to  the  poor  the  gospel  is  preached." 

Y.His  death.  This' is  the  living  centre  of  the 
gospel.  All  prophecies,  all  mythological  legends,  all 
longings  call  for  the  vicarious  death  of  the  Messiah. 
Prometheus,  chained  to  the  rock  with  the  vulture 
gnawing  at  his  vitals,  cries  out,  "  I  must  endure  this 
until  one  of  the  gods  shall  come  and  bear  it  for  me." 
The   penalty  of  sin  is  death  ;  as  it  is  written,  "  The 


IS   JESUS    THE    CHRIST?  8l 

soul  that  sinneth  it  shall  die."  If  the  Messiah  is  to 
deliver  the  race  from  its  penalty,  he  must  die  for  it. 
So  here  we  witness  Jesus  staggering  up  the  slope  of 
Calvary  under  the  burden  of  his  cross — a  mighty 
Atlas  bearing  a  world  of  sin  upon  him.  The  infidel 
Rousseau  was  forced  to  pay  involuntary  tribute  to 
the  character  of  Jesus  in  this  pre-eminent  act  of  self- 
sacrifice.  He  says,  "  Is  it  possible  that  this  sacred 
personage  should  be  a  mere  man  ?  Do  we  find  that 
he  assumed  the  tone  of  an  enthusiast  or  ambitious 
sectary  ?  What  sweetness,  what  purity  in  his  manner! 
What  an  affecting  gracefulness  in  his  instructions  ! 
What  sublimity  in  his  maxims  !  What  profound 
wisdom  in  his  discourses  !  What  presence  of  mind, 
what  subtlety,  what  fitness,  in  his  replies  !  How 
great  the  command  over  his  passions.  Where  is  the 
man,  where  the  philosopher,  who  could  so  live  and  so 
die,  without  weakness,  and  without  ostentation? 
When  Plato  describes  his  imaginary  just  man,  yet 
loaded  with  all  the  punishments  of  guilt,  yet  meriting 
the  highest  rewards  of  virtue,  he  describes  trait  by  trait 
the  character  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  the  resemblance  is  so 
striking,  that  all  the  Church  Fathers  perceived  it. 
What  prepossession,  what  blindness  must  it  be  to 
compare  the  son  of  Sophroniscus  to  the  Son  of  Mary  ! 
What  an  infinite  disproportion  between  them  !  The 
Spartans  were  a  sober  people  before  Socrates  recom- 
mended sobriety.  Before  he  had  even  defined  virtue, 
his  country  abounded  in  virtuous  men.  But  where 
could  Jesus  learn,  among  his  contemporaries,  that 
pure  and  sublime  morality  of  which  he  only  has  given 
us  both  precept  and  example?  The  greatest  wisdom 
was  made  known  amid  the  most  bigoted  fanaticism  ; 
and  the   simplicity  of   the  most   heroic    virtues  did 


82  IS    JESUS    THE    CHRIST  ? 

honor  to  the  vilest  people  on  earth.  The  death  oj 
Socrates^  peacefully  philosophizing  among  friends,  appears 
the  most  agreeable  that  one  could  wish  :  while  that  of 
Jesus,  expiring  in  agonies,  abused,  insulted,  a7„d  accused  by 
a  whole  nation,  is  the  most  horrible  that  one  could  fear. 
Socrates,  indeed,  in  receiving  the  cup  of  hemlock,  blessed  the 
weeping  executioner  who  administered  it ;  but  Jesus, 
amidst  excruciating  tortures,  prayed  for  his  jnerciless 
tormentors.  Yes,  verily,  if  the  life  and  death  of  Socrates 
were  those  of  a  sage,  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus  are  those 
of  a  God.'' 

VI.  His  resurrection  frojn  the  dead.  This,  also, 
appears  in  the  universal  foregleam  of  Messiah.  He, 
who  is  to  deliver  the  world  from  death,  cannot  him- 
self be  subject  to  it.  The  Holy  One  must  not  "  see 
corruption  "  ;  his  soul  must  not  be  left  in  sheol.  The 
resurrection  of  Jesus  is  God's  amen  put  upon  his 
redemptive  work.  In  this  we,  who  have  fellowship 
with  Christ,  triumph  over  death  and  hell  ;  as  it  is 
written,  "  Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead  and  be- 
come the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept.  So  is 
brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written.  Death  is 
swallowed  up  in  victory.  O  death,  where  is  thy 
sting  ?  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?  The  sting  of 
death  is  sin  ;  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law.  But 
thanks  be  to  God  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  !  " 

VII.  His  abiding  presence.  The  crowning  proof  of 
the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  lies  in  the  fact  that,  having 
finished  the  work  of  his  ministry,  he  did  not  abandon 
the  world  to  its  fate,  but  took  up  his  abode  among  us. 
He  organized  the  Church  through  which  he  now  ad- 
ministers his  redemptive  work  by  the  induence  of 
his  Spirit,  and  will  continue  so  to  do  until  the  kingdoms 


IS   JESUS    THE    CHRIST  ?  83 

of  this  world  shall  become  his  own.  His  energetic 
presence  is  manifest  in  three  tremendous  facts,  (i) 
Regeneration.  This  is  his  great  miracle  which  he  is 
performing  all  the  while  among  us.  You  and  I  have 
seen  it  many  a  time — a  man  taken  out  of  his  sin  and 
shame  and  set  upon  his  feet  with  new  hopes  and  as- 
pirations, a  new  man  in  Christ  Jesus.  Napoleon  ex- 
pressed his  unspeakable  wonder  at  the  fact  that 
"This  Jesus  of  Nazareth  stretches  his  hand  across 
the  centuries  and  makes  the  demand  for  a  human 
heart  and  gets  it  ! "  It  is  indeed  true.  He  says, 
"  My  son,  give  me  thy  heart,"  and  there  is  a  com- 
plete surrender.  This  is  the  wonder  of  regeneration, 
the  blending  of  a  human  soul  under  the  power  of  the 
personal  Christ  with  the  soul  of  God.  (2)  Sanctifi- 
cation  ;  that  is,  the  growth  of  the  regenerate  soul  in 
character  and  in  the  knowledge  of  truth.  This 
growth  is  accomplished  under  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  mere  imitation  of  Christ,  I  have  seen 
art  students  sitting  under  Correggio's  face  of  Jesus  in 
the  cathedral  at  Cologne  copying  the  beautiful  feat- 
ures of  that  portrait  with  infinite  pains.  A  similar 
thing,  in  a  larger  sphere,  is  going  on  the  world  over  ; 
a  great  multitude  that  no  man  can  number  are 
earnestly  and  prayerfully  seeking  to  be  more  like 
Jesus.  And  the  consummation  of  that  effort  is  Chris- 
tian character  ;  the  master  piece  of  human  life.  (3) 
Evangelization.  Christ  is  working  through  that 
great  living  organism  which  we  call  The  Universal 
Church,  and  every  day  is  winning  new  triumphs  to 
the  glory  of  his  Messianic  name.  This  is  the  "phi- 
losophy of  history."  The  cross  of  Jesus  leads  the 
march  of  progress.  Civilization  is  but  the  brighter 
shining  of  his  face.     All  things  are  moving  on   in  a 


84  IS   JESUS    THE    CHRIST  ? 

celestrial  order  toward  that  golden  age  in  which 
"Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun  does  his  suc- 
cessive journeys  run." 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  character  and  work  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  meet,  at  every  point,  the  require- 
ments of  the  Messianic  prophecy.  Do  we  still  cry, 
"Show  us  a  sign  "  ?  See  yonder  the  bright  angel  of 
progress,  whom  •  Milton  painted,  with  torch  in  hand, 
the  name  of  the  Nazarene  upon  his  brow,  ushering  in 
the  glory  of  the  latter  day  I  See  yonder  the  great 
procession,  ever  increasing  in  numbers,  leading  on 
the  triumphal  advent  with  the  cry,  "  Hosanna ! 
hosanna  !  blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord." 

We  speak  of  "honest  doubt."  There  is  such  a 
thing.  Doubt  is  either  the  painful  wavering  of  a  noble 
nature  or  the  boastful  frivolity  of  a  fool.  To  be  in 
"honest  doubt"  is  to  be  ever  in  pain.  A  man  who 
has  questioned  seriously  whether  or  not  Jesus  is  the 
Messiah,  will  rejoice  with  great  joy  over  any  demon- 
stration of  the  truth.  A  reasoning  faith  will  solve  the 
problem.  The  two  Pilgrims  on  their  way  to  the 
Celestial  City  were  given  over  to  doubt  and  de- 
spondency in  Doubting  Castle.  They  had  been 
beaten  by  Giant  Despair  with  a  crab-tree  cudgel. 
On  Saturday  about  midnight  they  began  to  pray  and 
continued  in  prayer  until  almost  the  break  of  day. 
The  Christian,  as  one  half  amazed,  brake  out  into 
this  passionate  speech,  "  What  a  fool,"  quoth  he,  "am 
I  thus  to  lie  in  a  dungeon  when  I  may  as  well  walk  at 
liberty.  I  have  a  key  in  my  bosom  that  will,  I  am 
persuaded,  open  any  lock  in  Doubting  Castle."  Then 
said  Hopeful,  "  That  is  good  news,  my  brother  ;  pluck 
it  out  of  thy  bosom   and  try."     And  as  he  turned  the 


IS   JESUS    THE    CHRIST  ?  85 

key,  the  door  flew  open  with  ease  and  Christian  and 
Hopeful  both  came  out.  A  willingness  to  believe  ; 
a  simple  rational  faith,  not  blind  credulity,  but  faith 
founded  on  evidence,  is  the  key  which  will  ever  open 
doubting  castle.  Hast  thou  been  questioning,  good 
friend,  as  to  whether  or  no  this  Jesus  is  the  Christ? 
Pluck  the  key  out  of  thy  bosom  and  try. 


STUMBLING-BLOCKS. 

"  Then  said  he  unto  the  disciples,  It  is  impossible  but  that  oi^enses  will  come : 
but  woe  unto  him,  through  whom  they  come  !  It  were  better  for  him 
that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about  his  neck,  and  he  cast  into  the  sea, 
than  that  he  should  offend  one  of  these  little  ones." — Luke  xvii.  i,  2. 

The  word  here  rendered  "offense"  is  in  the  orig- 
inal skufidalon,  which  we  have  in  our  English  words 
scandal  and  scandalized.  Its  literal  meaning  is,  a 
stumbling-block.  Our  Lord  made  use  of  it  when  re- 
proving Peter  for  suggesting  that  the  cross  was  un- 
necessary. "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan  !  "  he  said, 
"  Thou  art  an  offense  unto  me  "  ;  that  is,  thou  art  a 
stumbling-block  in  my  way.  The  cross  is  itself  re- 
ferred to  as  a  skandalon  ;  as  where  it  is  written,  "We 
preach  Christ  crucified  ;  to  the  Jews  a  stumbling- 
block  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness,  but  to  them  that 
are  saved,  the  wisdom  and  the  power  of  God."  In  like 
manner  Christ  is  spoken  of  as  a  stone  of  stumbling 
and  a  rock  of  offense.  And  he  said  of  himself, 
"Blessed  are  they  that  are  not  offended  in  me." 

Thfi  application  in  the  present  instance,  however, 
is  to  such  as  by  their  life  and  conduct  lay  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  those  who  might  otherwise  come  into 
the  Kingdom  of  God. 

I.  A  man  may  be  an  offense  to  hhnself;  that  is,  he 
may  lay  stumbling-blocks  in  his  own  way.  A  vicious 
temper,  a  prejudice  against  truth  or  sound  morals,  a 
bad  habit  of  any  sort,  may  be  the  obstacle  to  a  man's 

(86) 


STUMBLING-BLOCKS.  87 

progress  toward  the  higher  life.  Thus  he  may  be 
indeed  his  own  worst  enemy.  It  is  of  such  offenses 
that  the  Lord  spake  when  he  said,  "  If  thine  eye  of- 
fend thee,  pluck  it  out  ;  or  if  thy  right  hand  offend 
thee,  cut  it  off  ;  it  were  far  better  for  thee  to  go  blind 
or  maimed  into  life,  than  with  two  hands  or  two  eyes 
to  be  cast  into  hell  fire."  It  is  recorded  of  Arch- 
bishop Cranmer  that  when  he  was  tied  to  the  stake 
and  the  fagots  were  kindled,  he  thrust  his  right  hand 
into  the  flame — the  hand  that  had  signed  his  recan- 
tation and  committed  him  to  falsehood  and  con- 
tempt— saying,  "  O,  thou  unworthy  hand,  thou  shalt 
burn  first  !  "  It  were  well  for  us  all,  could  we,  in  like 
manner,  put  away  our  darling  sins,  for  in  them  is  the 
possibility  of  spiritual  and  eternal  death. 

II.  The  prof essed  followers  of  Christ  may  offend  those 
who  are  withotit  the  church.  We  are  a  watched  people. 
Our  life  is  likened  to  the  athletic  sports  of  the 
stadium  ;  we  are  compassed  about  by  a  great  crowd 
of  witnesses.  The  galleries  are  full  of  those  who 
watch  our  walk  and  conversation.  It  is  of  the  ut- 
most importance,  therefore,  that  we  should  live  cir- 
cumspectly lest  we,  perhaps,  inadvertently  mislead 
others. 

(i)  We  may  do  this  by  an  assumption  of  "over- 
much righteousness."  There  is  no  true  helpfulness 
in  lachrymose  piety.  It  is  a  serious  mistake  to  give 
the  impression  that  the  Christian  life  is  a  monoton- 
ous routine  of  unrelieved  cross-bearing.  True  life  is 
a  serious  matter  to  those  who,  in  the  fellowship  of 
the  gospel,  have  rightly  apprehended  it.  But  on  the 
other  hand  it  is  the  most  delightsome  thing  in  all  the 
world  to  follow  Christ.  At  his  right  hand  are 
pleasures  forevermore.     To  serve  him  consistently  is 


88  STUMBLING-BLOCKS. 

to    enter   into    the    peace    of  God  which  passeth  all 
understanding. 

Our  Lord  rebuked  the  Pharisees  for  "binding 
heavy  burdens  and  grievous  to  be  borne  and  lay- 
ing them  on  men's  shoulders."  They  made  long 
prayers  and  ostentatiously  paid  tithes  of  their 
garden  herbs.  They  made  the  Sabbath  intolerable 
by  gratuitous  exactions,  and  they  made  wry  faces  at 
innocent  pleasure.  Thus  they  gave  offense  to  others 
and  the  woe  of  the  Master  was  pronounced  upon  them. 
A  similar  charge  is  made  against  the  Puritans,  of 
whom  a  witty  historian  has  said,  "  They  suppressed 
bear-baiting  not  because  the  sport  troubled  the  bears, 
but  because  the  people  enjoyed  it." 

All  this  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  Christ  who, 
at  the  marriage  in  Cana,  turned  the  water  into  wine 
to  indicate  that  blessed  transformation  of  duty  into 
pleasure  which  comes  to  all  who  have  rightly  appre- 
hended his  teaching  and  his  manner  of  life.  If  God 
is  our  Father,  if  Jesus  Christ  has  indeed  suffered  for 
our  salvation,  if  by  our  faith  in  his  atoning  work  we 
have  really  entered  into  the  glory  and  freedom  of  the 
spiritual  life,  then  why  shall  we  not  make  merry  and 
rejoice  in  him  !  Tasks  there  are  and  grave  duties 
and  responsibilities,  but  his  yoke  is  easy  and  his 
burden  is  light. 

(2)  There  are  those  in  the  church  who  give  of- 
fense by  their  lawless  manner  of  living.  It  is 
rumored  that  there  are  some,  whose  names  are  on  the 
church  roll  as  members  in  good  and  regular  stand- 
ing, who  do  not  pay  their  honest  debts  ;  some  who 
are  not  strictly  honest  in  their  business  transactions  ; 
some  whose  word  cannot  be  depended  upon.  My 
brethren,  this  ought  not  so  to  be. 


STUMBLING-BLOCKS.  89 

In  the  reproof  which  Nathan  addressed  to  David 
respecting  his  awful  sin  against  Uriah  and  Bathsheba, 
he  said,  "By  this  deed  thou  hast  given  occasion  to 
the  enemies  of  the  Lord  to  blaspheme."  In  a  similar 
reproof  which  Paul  addressed  to  the  Roman  Chris- 
tians, he  says,  "  Thou  therefore  which  teachest  an- 
other, teachest  thou  not  thyself?  Thou  that  preach- 
est  that  a  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou  steal? 
Thou  that  sayest  a  man  should  not  commit  adultery, 
dost  thou  commit  adultery  ?  Thou  that  abhorrest 
idols,  dost  thou  commit  sacrilege  ?  Thou  that  makest 
thy  boast  of  the  law,  through  breaking  the  law  dis- 
honorest  thou  God  ?  For  the  name  of  God  is  blas- 
phemed among  the  Gentiles  through  you." 

But  when  all  is  said  with  reference  to  Christian 
inconsistency,  it  still  remains  that  the  example  of 
right  living  should  not  be  looked  for  in  Christians,  but 
in  Christ  himself.  We  do  not  set  ourselves  upas  ex- 
amples. We  are  but  strugglers  doing  our  best,  and 
quite  imperfectly,  to  attain  unto  a  holy  life.  Back  of 
the  church  and  of  all  fallible  believers  stands  the 
Perfect  One.  He  is  the  Great  Exemplar.  The 
reasonable  course  is  not  to  look  askance  at  imperfect 
lives,  but  to  look  at  him  in  whose  life  there  was  no 
guile. 

A  large  portion  of  the  life  of  Titian  was  wasted 
in  copying  the  works  of  Bellini,  and  another  in 
ijnitating  the  masterpieces  of  Giorgione  ;  but  "at 
length  he  gave  up  the  imitative  method  and  went  out 
to  study  nature — the  fields,  the  mountains,  the  sun^ 
sets,  the  floating  clouds — and  thus  he  made  himself 
immortal.  Why  should  thinking  people  turn  their 
gaze  upon  mere  mortal  patterns,  when  Christ  is  ever 
before  them  ?     Christ  in   whom  are  all  the  virtues  of 


90  STUMBLING-BLOCKS. 

character  and  all  the  graces  of  the  higher  life. 
Friend,  look  to  Jesus  ;  he  is  the  chiefest  among  ten 
thousand  and  the  one  altogether  lovely. 

When  Agesilaiis  was  invited  to  hear  a  man  who 
mimicked  the  nightingale  with  wondrous  art,  he  re- 
plied, "Why  should  I,  when  I  have  heard  the  night- 
ingale herself  ?"  So  the  man,  who  has  Christ  before 
him,  is  without  excuse  if  he  persist  in  copying  the 
questionable  life  and  character  of  any  of  his  fellow- 
men. 

III.  Those  who  do  not  follow  Christ  are  in  constant 
danger  of  offending  his  little  ones.  So  much  is  said  of 
the  inconsistencies  of  Christians  that  this  side  of  the 
matter  is  in  danger  of  being  overlooked.  Yet  this 
was  the  special  reference  of  Christ  :  "  Woe  unto  the 
world  because  of  offenses,"  that  is,  the  offenses  which 
the  world  is  wont  to  place  before  the  feet  of  his  little 
ones.  The  weak,  the  impressible,  the  unsophisticated 
and  unsuspicious  are  here  tenderly  and  graciously 
referred  to  as  his  little  ones.  He  is  very  jealous  of 
these  and  will  not  suffer  them  to  be  wronged  without 
avenging  them.  Such  are  constantly  being  led  astray 
by  the  world,  but  "Woe  unto  him  by  whom  the 
offense  cometh.  It  were  better  for  him  that  a  mill- 
stone were  hanged  about  his  neck  and  he  were 
thrown  into  the  depths  of  the  sea,  than  that  he 
should  offend  one  of  my  little  ones." 

(i)  At  the  time  when  this  admonition  was  uttered, 
the  infant  Church  was  just  beginning  to  suffer  from 
grievous  persecution  ;  the  sword  was  being  drawn 
from  its  scabbard,  the  spark  was  kindling  in  the  fagots. 
Thanks  be  to  the  influence  of  Christian  civilization 
the  era  of  persecution  has  passed  by.  The  unspeak- 
able Turk  is  left  alone  to  massacre  those  who  refuse 


STUMBLING-BLOCKS..  gi 

to  espouse  the  Moslem  faith.  But  the  pointed  finger 
is  still  a  mighty  power  on  earth.  And  there  are 
other  modes  of  cruelty  no  less  severe  than  axe  and 
fagot. 

(2)  The  false  teacher  has  much  to  answer  for. 
Woe  to  the  infidel  who  leads  the  unwary  astray.  Not 
long  ago  a  brilliant  infidel  discussed  the  question, 
"Is  life  worth  living?"  advancing  the  proposition 
that  suicide  is  justifiable  under  certain  conditions. 
An  epidemic  of  suicide  followed.  The  same  man  is 
now  engaged  in  publicl}''  maligning  the  Scriptures, 
and  a  thoughtless  multitude  of  young  people  are 
Waiting  upon  him.  What  an  awful  power  is  wielded 
by  such  a  man  ! 

In  the  Wirtz  Gallery  of  Horrors  at  Brussels  there 
is  a  picture  called,  "  Napoleon's  Welcome  to  Hell," 
in  which  the  maimed  and  widowed  and  orphaned 
are  represented  as  stretching  forth  their  hands  to 
welcome  him  into  the  region  of  endless  pain.  If  by 
any  mischance  in  the  calculation  of  the  great  infidel, 
there  should  be  a  judgment  day,  what  legions  of  the 
lost  will  rise  up  against  him. 

But  there  are  others  who,  without  malignity,  but  in 
utter  thoughtlessness,  lend  themselves  to  the  work  of 
displacing  the  foundations  of  truth  ;  who  speak 
against  the  Scriptures  and  against  the  supernatural 
in  religion  and  against  the  atonement  of  Christ. 
This  is  an  offense  to  the  weak  and  the  heedless,  and 
woe  to  him  by  whom  the  offense  cometh.  It  were 
better  for  him  that  a  millstone  were  hanged  about 
his  neck  and  that  he  were  thrown  into  the  depths  of 
the  sea. 

(3)  The  offense  may,  also,  be  given  by  silent  ex- 
ample.    It  is  not  necessary  for  you  to  say,  my  friend. 


92  STUMBLING-BLOCKS. 

that  you  do  not  believe  in  God  ;  simply  live  as  if 
there  w^ere  no  God  and  the  lesson  w^ill  be  taught. 
You  do  not  need  to  say,  "  I  have  no  faith  in  prayer 
or  in  the  Scriptures"  ;  simply  let  the  Bible  lie  dust- 
covered  upon  its  shelf  and  never  allow  your  voice  to 
be  heard  in  supplication  ;  others  will  take  knowledge 
of  it.  You  need  not  join  the  multitude  who  are  lead- 
ing Christ  to  Calvary  with  shouts  of  "  Crucify  him  ! 
crucify  him ! "  hold  yourself  aloof  from  the  great 
fellowship  who  receive  him  as  their  Redeemer  ;  that 
will  give  sufficient  token,  of  your  attitude  toward 
him.  In  any  case  your  example  will  be  a  savor  of 
life  unto  life  or  of  death  unto  death. 

One  who  would  injure  his  neighbor's  garden  need 
not  break  through  and  tear  up  the  fragrant  plants;  let 
him  toss  a  handful  of  thistle  seed  aloft  and  the  wind 
will  do  the  rest.  A  man  going  from  his  house  to  his 
stable  on  a  snowy  morning,  hears  a  voice  behind  him 
calling,  "I'm  coming  right  along.  Papa."  And  look- 
ing back  he  sees  his  little  son  lifting  his  little  feet  and 
carefully  planting  them  in  his  footprints.  So  they 
do  ;  no  man  liveth  unto  himself.  Our  children  walk 
in  our  footsteps. 

A  man  may  be  willing  to  take  his  own  chances  in 
denying  truth  and  living  an  unholy  life,  but  let  him 
think  well  that  he  cannot  stand  alone  ;  he  is  the  centre 
of  a  coterie  ;  he  is  living  or  dying  for  others  ;  his 
children's  children  will  follow  him. 

IV.  But  there  is  a  positive  side  to  all  this.  If  by 
virtue  of  the  silent,  tremendous,  self-propagating 
power  of  influence  we  are  in  constant  danger  of  in- 
juring others,  by  the  same  token  we  may  be  doing 
constant  good.  The  same  influence  which  lays  the 
stumbling-block,  may  stretch  forth  the  helping  hand. 


STUMBLING-BLOCKS.  93 

And  blessed  be  God  there  are  multitudes  of  people 
who  unconsciously  make  their  lives  a  blessing  to  all. 

We  have  recently  been  called  to  mourn  the  death  of 
Dr.  William  G.  T.  Shedd,  It  was  my  privilege  years 
ago,  as  an  academy  boy  on  Old  Andover  Hill,  to  sit 
under  his  preaching  and  afterward  I  was  his  pupil  in 
Union  Theological  Seminary.  It  is  a  pleasure  now 
to  recall  the  kindly  influence  of  this  man.  He  was  a 
representative  of  the  conservative  school  in  theology 
and  always  true  to  his  conception  of  truth.  He  was 
"  liberal  "  also  in  the  truest  sense  of  that  much-abused 
word  ;  that  is,  without  surrendering  one  jot  or  tittle 
of  his  own  conviction,  he  was  ready  that  others,  who 
differed  with  him,  should  be  as  positiveand  dogmatic 
as  he  was  himself.  And  always  he  was  generous  and 
helpful.  I  shall  never  forget  my  last  brief  conversa- 
tion with  him  in  which,  as  an  old  man  to  a  younger, 
he  spoke  in  terms  of  blessing  and  encouragement. 
So  true  always,  so  gentle  and  kindly,  the  world 
misses  such  men. 

As  I  passed  from  the  sound  of  the  preacher's 
voice  in  the  funeral  service,  I  found  myself  in 
the  presence  of  Gabriel  Max's  picture  called  "The 
Greeting."  A  maiden  doomed  to  death  for  her  devo- 
tion to  Christ  stands  in  the  arena.  On  her  left  a 
group  of  lions  sated  with  flesh  lie  unconcerned  ;  on 
her  right  a  ravenous  beast,  with  head  bent  and  eyes 
aflame,  is  just  issuing  from  its  cage.  The  galleries 
are  filled  with  expectant  people.  At  the  feet  of  the 
young  martyr  a  rose  has  fallen  from  above.  She 
stands  with  her  hand  upon  a  pillar,  her  e3'es,  to  be 
closed  in  a  moment  upon  earthly  scenes,  lifted  toward 
the  balcony.  They  search  gratefully  for  the  hand 
that  has  dropped    this  token  of  kindness  at  her  feet. 


94  STUMBLING-BLOCKS. 

God  be  praised  we  can  all  do  this.  The  world  is  full 
of  such  as  are  ever  facing  death  ;  whose  temptations 
seem  greater  than  they  can  bear,  whose  burdens  are 
breaking  their  hearts.  We  may  do  them  a  kindness 
as  we  pass  on.  We  may  make  their  burdens  lighter. 
We  may  make  the  world  better  for  our  walking 
through  it. 

That  was  a  grpat  word  which  the  Master  spoke  : 
"  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth  :  but  if  the  salt  have 
lost  its  savour,  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted  ?  Ye  are 
the  light  of  the  world  :  let  your  light  so  shine  before 
men  that  they  may  see  your  good  works  and  glorify 
your  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 


A  SERMON  FROM  THE  GALLOWS. 

"And  one  of  the  malefactors  which  were  hanged,  railed  on  him,  saying,  J ( 
thou  be  the  Christ,  save  thyself  and  us.  But  the  other  answering  rebuked 
him,  saying.  Dost  not  thou  fear  God,  seeing  thou  art  in  the  same  condem- 
nation ?  And  we  indeed  justly  :  lor  we  receive  the  due  reward  of  our 
deeds  but  this  man  hath  done  nothing  amiss.  And  he  said  unto  Jesus, 
Lord,  remember  me  when  thou  comest  into  thy  Itingdom.  And  Jesus  said 
unto  him.  Verily  1  say  unto  thee,  To-day  shall  thou  be  with  me  in  para- 
dise."— Luke  xxiii.  39-43. 

It  was  on  a  Friday  morning  that  Jesus  was  led 
forth  to  die.  And  Friday  has  been  hangman's  day 
as  far  back  as  runneth  the  memory  of  man.  It  was  a 
motley  company  that  issued  from  the  Damascus 
gate.  The  centurion  led  the  way  with  two  qua- 
ternions of  soldiers  ;  then  Jesus  with  the  malefactors, 
one  on  either  side  ;  then  a  few  weeping  friends  ;  and 
finally,  the  mob — the  multitude  that  is  ever  drawn  ir- 
resistibly by  the  weird  anguish  of  an  execution.  So 
they  came  to  Calvary  and  Jesus  was  nailed  to  the 
cross  and  lifted  up  between  heaven  and  earth.  Then 
the  supernatural  darkness — night  at  high  noon,  and 
within  that  sombre  veil  the  Lord  wrought  his  last 
miracle.  They  had  bound  him  fast,  but  they  could 
not  rob  him  of  his  power  to  save.  His  hands,  pierced 
and  bleeding,  had  not  lost  their  cunning.  He  reached 
them  forth  in  that  last  hour  and  plucked  the  penitent 
reprobate  from  the  quicksands  of  shame  and  despair, 
in  which  he  was  sinking  fast,  and  set  his  feet  upon 
the  everlasting  rock  ! 

But  you  "do  not  believe  in  death-bed  conversions?" 
No  more  do  I.     A  man  is  a  coward  who  will  burn  out 

(95) 


g6  A    SERMON    FROM    THE    GALLOWS. 

the  candle  of  his  life  and  fling  the  snuffed  wick  upon 
the  altar  of  God.  A  man  is  a  coward  and  deserves 
no  mercy  who  will  spend  all  his  years  in  sordid  toil 
and  selfish  pleasure  and  expect  to  leap  into  heaven  at 
the  last,  with  the  cry  "  God,  have  mercy  !  "  upon  his 
lips.  That  is  a  dangerous  venture.  If  I  were  you  I 
would  not  try  it.  But  God  is  sovereign  and  worketh 
when  and  where  and  how  he  will.  And  grace  is  free. 
Wesley  never  wrote  a  truer  couplet  than  this, 

"  Betwixt  the  saddle  and  the  ground, 
Mercy  sought,  is  mercy  found." 

It  has  been  wisely  said  that  one  record  of  a  death- 
bed conversion  is  given  in  the  Scriptures,  so  that 
none  may  ever  despair  ;  but  only  one,  so  that  none 
may  ever  presume.  We  may  doubt  all  other  death- 
bed conversions  if  it  pleases  us  so,  but  as  to  this  par- 
ticular one  there  is  no  question  whatever  that  the 
penitent  thief  was  saved. 

How  do  we  know  this  .''  By  incontrovertible  evi- 
dence. The  word  of  the  Master  himself:  "Verily  I 
say  unto  ihee,  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise.'* 
Every  word  is  important  here,  {a)  "Verily."  It  is 
not  often  that  the  Scriptures  give  us  so  definite 
an  assurance  as  to  the  destiny  of  any  man.  We  have 
a  reckless  way  of  assigning  people  to  heaven  and 
hell  ;  but  the  Scriptures  speak  in  more  cautious  and 
general  terms.  As  where  it  is  written  :  "  He  that  be-* 
lieveth  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be  saved,  and 
he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  Even  in  the 
case  of  Judas,  who  was  guilty  of  the  great  treason,  it 
is  only  said  that  he  went  "  to  his  own  place."  The 
word  with  respect  to  this  penitent  thief,  however,  is 
very  positive:  "  Verily  I  say  unto  thee."     {b)  "To- 


A    SERMON    FROM    THE    GALLOWS. 


97 


day  thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  paradise."  This  is  the 
only  occasion  on  which  Christ  uses  the  word.  It 
means,  a  garden.  This  man  was  in  the  agonies  of 
death ;  his  eye-balls  swollen,  his  limbs  twisted  in 
anguish  ;  the  hot  blood  of  fever  was  running  through 
his  veins,  the  pain  of  gangrene  was  burning  through 
his  flesh,  his  lips  were  parched  with  a  fiery  thirst. 
Paradise  !  Paradise  !  A  garden  of  delights,  ripple 
of  brooks,  rustle  of  leaves,  perfume  of  flowers,  apples, 
pomegranates,  clusters  of  the  vine  ! 

"  Oh  happy  harbor  of  God's  saints  ; 

Oh  sweet  and  pleasant  soil. 
In  thee  no  sorrow  can  be  found, 

Nor  grief,  nor  care,  nor  toil. 
No  dimly  cloud  o'ershadows  thee. 

Nor  gloom,  nor  darksome  night  ; 
But  every  soul  shines  as  the  sun, 

For  God  himself  gives  light. 
Thy  gardens  and  thy  goodly  walks 

Continually  are  green, 
Where  grow  such  sweet  and  pleasant  flowers 

As  nowhere  else  are  seen." 

(c)  ''To-day  with  me  in  paradise."  Blessed  be  God 
for  that  word  !  No  purgatory,  then.  No  hundred 
years  of  penance  to  burn  out  the  record  of  the  mis- 
lived  past,  and  then  the  open  gates.  And  no  "  soul- 
sleeping" —  a  million  years  of  resting  in  uncon- 
sciousness to  awake  at  the  trumpet  sound  and  sweep 
with  the  great  multitude  through  the  open  doors 
of  glory.  No.  "To-day  "  with  Christ.  In  the  morn- 
ing this  man  was  led  out  from  the  Damascus  gate 
wearing  at  his  neck  a  titulum,  "He  dies  a  thief." 
No  friends  to  pity  him  ;  all  saying,  "It  served  him 
right,"  and  it  did.  But,  perhaps,  there  was  a  home 
in  Jerusalem  filled  with  sorrow  for  him  ;  where  an  old 


98  A    SERMON    FROM    THE    GALLOWS. 

mother  sat  rocking  to  and  fro,  her  face  in  her  hands, 
lamenting  "Woe  is  me  for  my  wayward  son.  He  dies 
a  felon's  death  to-day."  She  dared  not  lift  her  face 
and  look  toward  Golgotha,  for  there  was  the  gallows- 
tree.  Her  heart  was  crushed  with  unspeakable  shame, 
but  filled  with  love  ;  love  maternal,  love  unconquer- 
able, love  which  many  waters  cannot  quench.  But, 
O,  had  she  known  !  The  garments  of  her  woe  would 
have  been  laid  aside  and  joy  would  have  brightened 
her  dim  eyes,  had  she  heard  the  Master's  words  and 
known  their  meaning  ;  for  Jesus  went  before  to  para- 
dise and  stood  at  the  gate  of  the  garden  to  welcome 
him,  saying,  "  Enter,  my  beloved  !  Eat  and  drink 
abundantly  and  be  forever  with  thy  Lord." 

But  how  was  this  great  salvation  wrought  ?  We 
think  of  the  salvation  of  this  dying  malefactor  as 
a  miracle  of  a  most  extraordinary  sort.  It  was, 
however,  no  more  a  miracle  than  any  other  con- 
version, for  conversion  is  in  all  cases  supernatural 
and  wrought  only  by  the  power  of  God.  We  are 
warranted  in  saying,  (i)  that  this  man  was  not 
saved  by  his  morality.  If  under  such  conditions, 
as  they  say,  the  past  life  sweeps  before  the  soul 
as  in  an  awful  panorama,  then  upon  what  a  record 
did  the  gaze  of  this  malefactor  rest ;  no  generous 
service  in  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness, 
but  sin  and  shame  revels  and  robberies,  violence 
and  licentiousness  !  And  alas !  it  was  now  too 
late  to  retrieve  it.  The  feet  that  might  have 
gone  about  on  errands  ot  mercy,  were  nailed  fast. 
The  hands  that  might  have  dispensed  alms  and  kind- 
ness on  every  side,  were  bound  to  the  accursed  tree. 
The  eyes  that  might  have  looked  love  and  sympathy, 
were  filmed  already  with  the  foreshadowing  of  death. 


A    SERMON    FROM    THE    GALLOWS.  99 

He  could  do  nothing  now  to  atone  for  the  past. 
Shall  we  say  then  that  morality  is  useless  ?  Oh  no. 
It  expresses  our  gratitude  for  mercies  numberless 
and  brightens  the  glory  of  the  great  reward. 
But  it  cannot  save  :  "  By  the  deeds  of  the  law 
shall  no  flesh  be  justified."  (2)  He  was  not  saved 
by  his  orthodoxy.  A  creed  was  of  little  moment  in 
that  exigency.  He  was  probably  unfamiliar  with  the 
schools.  The  propositions  of  Hillel  and  Shammai 
were  alike  to  him.  The  hour  had  come  when  all 
truth  was  reduced  to  its  simplest  form.  So  when 
Archibald  Alexander  was  dying,  having  been  sixty 
years  a  preacher  and  forty  years  a  professor  in 
Princeton,  he  said, "  All  that  can  help  me  now  is  the 
faithful  saying,  that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world 
to  save  sinners."  Creeds  and  symbols  have  their 
uses,  for  all  truth  is  precious  beyond  rubies,  but 
they  do  not  save  us.  (3)  Nor  was  this  man  saved  by 
the  sacraments.  He  was  not  a  member  of  the  church 
'*in  good  and  regular  standing."  He  may  never  have 
passed  the  threshold  of  a  synagogue.  Here  is  some- 
what for  church  members  to  gaze  on.  Come  and 
see  how  a  man  can  be  saved  outside  the  charmed 
circle.  What  then  ?  shall  we  say  the  church  is  use- 
less or  the  sacraments  vain  ?  Oh  no  ;  they  help  us 
on  to  right  living  after  the  foundations  are  laid  in 
the  new  birth,  but  they  cannot  save.  To  trust  to 
them  for  our  deliverance  is  to  lean  upon  a  broken 
staff,  which  will  pierce  through  the  hand. 

How  then  ?  By  what  means  was  this  malefactor 
enabled  to  pass  so  wondrously  from  Golgotha  to 
glory  ?     There  were  three  steps. 

First — Repentance.  This  man  was  genuinely 
sorry  for  his  sin.     It  is  one  thing  to  be  sorry  for  sin, 


lOO  ,  A    SERMON    FROM    THE    GALLOWS. 

and  another  to  be  sorry  for  having  involved  one's 
self  in  trouble  through  sin.  There  is  an  old  saying, 
*  No  rogue  e'er  felt  the  halter  draw  with  good  opin- 
ion of  the  law."  But  this  rogue  did.  In  the  very 
article  of  death  he  acknowledged  the  fairness  of  his 
condemnation.  To  his  comrade  who  reviled  Jesus, 
he  said,  "  Dost  thou  not  fear  God,  seeing  thou  art  in 
the  same  condemnation  ?  And  we  indeed  justly."  In 
that  word  "justly  "  he  betrayed  his  own  respect  for 
the  law,  and  his  sorrow  for  having  violated  it. 

Second— Ya.\\h.  The  penitent  thief  believed  in 
Jesus  Christ.  He  called  him  Lord  under  the  most 
adverse  conditions.  He  spoke  of  his  kingdom. 
The  Nazarene  was  dying  a  shameful  death,  but  this 
man  saw  through  the  shame  and  the  blood,  and 
perceived  that  he  was  a  king  in  disguise.  Pilate 
thought  that  his  judgment  had  put  an  utter  end 
to  the  influence  of  Jesus.  The  Sanhedrin  no  doubt 
shared  in  that  view.  But  the  thief  perceived  that, 
in  death,  Jesus  v^as  but  prolonging  his  days  and 
that  the  pleasure  of  Jehovah  should  yet  prosper  in 
his  hand.  It  was  little  that  he  asked — remember 
me — but  it  was  enough  to  shown  that  he  regarded 
Jesus  as  the  dispenser  of  the  patronage  of  the 
Kingdom.  To  the  chief  butler,  on  leaving  prison, 
Joseph  said,  "Think  on  me  when  it  shall  be  well 
with  thee  "  ;  but  it  is  written,  "  Yet  did  not  the  chief 
butler  remember  Joseph,  but  forgat  him."  Not  so 
did  Jesus  treat  the  modest  request  of  the  dying 
thief,  but  at  once  gave  him  assurance  that  he  should 
have  place  with  himself  in  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

Third— Bz^X-ism.  These  are  the  three  conditions 
of  spiritual  life  :  repent,  believe  and  be  baptized. 
What  is  baptism  ?     An  outward  ordinance  signifying 


A    SERMON    FROM    THE    GALLOWS.  lOI 

the  washing  of  the  waters  of  regeneration.  It  is  an 
announcement  to  the  world  of  the  putting  away  of 
the  old  man  of  sin  and  the  putting  on  of  the  new  life 
in  Christ.  It  is,  therefore,  made  to  be  appropriately 
the  initiatory  rite  of  membership  in  the  church.  The 
death-dew  on  the  forehead  of  the  penitent  thief  was 
the  holy  chrism.  He  was  received  that  day  by  his 
open  confession  into  the  assembly  of  the  first-born. 
It  was  beyond  his  power  to  submit  himself  to  the 
outward  rite,  but  he  did  the  very  best  he  could.  To 
the  utmost  of  his  ability  he  complied  with  all  the 
conditions  which  are  affixed  to  the  gift  of  eternal 
life.     And  God  asks  no  more  of  any  man. 

To  this  it  must  be  added  that  the  penitent  thief 
devoted  his  whole  life  to  Christ;  and  salvation  is  pos- 
sible on  no  other  terms  ;  as  the  Master  said,  "  If  any 
man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself  and 
take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me.  Let  your  light  so 
shine  before  men  that  they  may  see  your  good  works 
and  glorify  God/'  He  did  all  that.  The  life  that  re- 
mained to  him  on  earth  was  indeed  but  a  single 
hour,  but  there  are  men  who  live  more  in  an  hour 
than  others  in  three-score  years  and  ten.  Of  Methu- 
selah it  IS  said,  "And  he  lived  nine  hundred  and  sixty 
and  nine  years,  and  he  died."  That  was  all.  Dia- 
mond and  charcoal  are  all  one  ;  it  is  a  mere  question 
of  carbon.  There  are  men  whose  lives  are  like  a 
wagon-load  of  charcoal  ;  others  whose  lives,  though 
brief,  are  crystallized  like  a  solitaire.  So  the  hour  of 
life  which  remained  to  the  dying  thief  was  so  conse- 
crated to  divine  service  in  the  utterance  of  a  prayer 
which  has  come  down  through  the  ages  that  it  was 
indeed  a  gem  worthy  to  sparkle  in  the  Master's 
crown.     What  says  Ben  Jonson  : 


I02  A   SERMON    FROM    THE    GALLOWS. 

"  It  is  not  growing  like  a  tree 

In  bulk,  doth  make  man  better  be  ; 
Or  standing  long  an  oak,  three  hundred  year, 
To  fall  a  log  at  last,  dry,  bald,  and  sere  : 
A  lily  of  a  day 
Is  fairer  far  in  May, 
Although  it  fall  and  die  that  night, — 
It  was  the  plant  and  flower  of  light. 
In  small  proportions  we  just  beauties  see  ; 
And  in  short  measures  life  may  perfect  be." 

But  after  all  this  man  was  saved  not  by  aught  of 
his  own  doing,  but  by  the  sovereign  grace  of  God. 
You  have  seen  the  shadows  following  one  another 
swift  along  the  mountain  slopes,  and  looking  upward 
have  said,  "The  clouds  are  casting  these  shadows." 
It  was  not  the  clouds,  however,  but  the  sun  behind 
them.  Repentance,  faith  and  open  confession  are 
mere  conditions.  It  is  the  arm  of  God  made  bare  on 
Calvary  that  saves  us. 

And  this  divine  grace  is  the  same  yesterday,  to- 
day and  forever.  The  hands  that  were  stretched  out 
upon  the  cross  are  stretched  out  still.  And  he  who 
suffered  there,  now  enthroned  in  light  and  glory  in- 
approachable, is  able  to  save  unto  the  uttermost  all 
that  will  come  unto  him.  The  traditional  name  of 
the  penitent  thief  was  Dysmas,  meaning  ''  the  setting 
sun."  The  morning  of  his  life  had  been  spent  in 
pleasure,  its  noonday  in  toil,  and  its  afternoon  in  sin; 
the  night  was  near.  There  may  be  one  among  those 
to  whom  this  word  shall  come,  who  has  grown  gray 
in  rebellion  against  God.  He  looks  backward  over  a 
wasted  life,  lost  opportunities,  promises  unfulfilled, 
sin  upon  sin.     But  in  this  message  from  Golgotha 


A    SERMON    FROM    THE    GALLOWS.  I03 

there  is  another  overture  of  mercy.  There  is  time 
enough  still,  but  none  to  lose.     For 

". . . .  our  hearts,  though  stout  and  brave, 
Still  like  muffled  drums  are  beating 
Funeral  marches  to  the  grave." 

Do  not  wait  for  the  uncertain  chances  of  a  death-bed 
repentance.  You  may  be  bereft  of  reason,  or  the 
King  of  Terrors  may  come  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye.  Now  is  the  accepted  time.  God  speaks  :  "  To- 
day if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts." 
He  IS  ready  to  save.  The  fountain  has  been  opened 
for  all  uncleanness. 

"  The  dying  thief  rejoiced  to  see 
That  fountain  in  his  day  ; 
And  there  may  I,  though  vile  as  he, 
Wash  all  my  sins  away." 

The  three  crosses  still  stand  on  Golgotha.  And 
he  upon  the  central  cross  is  lifted  up  for  the  rise  and 
fall  of  many;  on  his  left  are  the  impenitent  dying  for 
themselves  alone;  on  his  right  are  the  penitent  dying 
in  Christ.  The  tropical  line  dividing  between  the 
zones  of  eternal  life  and  eternal  death  runs  through 
that  central  cross.  The  Saviour  is  in  the  midst  with 
his  hands  stretched  out.  Your  lot  must  be  on  the 
left  or  right  of  that  eternal  line  of  destiny.  It  is  for 
you  to  say  where  it  shall  be. 


IN  THE    MOUNT  OF  TRANSFIGU- 
RATION. 

"  For  we  have  hot  followed  cunningly  devised  fables,  when  we  made  known 
unto  you  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  were  eye- 
witnesses ot  his  majesty.  For  he  received  from  God  the  Father  honor 
and  glory,  when  there  came  such  a  voice  to  him  from  the  excellent  glory. 
This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased.  And  this  voice 
which  came  from  heaven  we  heard,  when  we  were  with  him  in  the  holy 
mount."— II.  Pet.  i.  16-18. 

The  faith  of  Peter  rested  in  the  Messiahship  of 
Christ.  He  believed  in  his  "  power  and  his  coming," 
and,  his  prime  reason  for  this  belief  lay  in  the  mar- 
vellous thing  which  he  had  witnessed  on  the  mount 
of  Transfiguration.  There  were  those  who  said  that 
he  rested  under  a  delusion  ;  others,  that  the  event  re- 
ferred to  was  a  cunningly  devised  fable.  His  answer 
was  at  hand.     Let  him  tell  his  own  story  : 

"  It  was  at  the  close  of  our  Lord's  journey  through 
Cesarea-Philippi.  By  the  way  he  had  much  to  say 
respecting  his  approaching  death.  We  could  not  un- 
derstand it.  His  death  !  We  expected  him  to  take 
his  place  upon  the  Messianic  throne  and  rule  in  splen- 
dor as  the  long-predicted  Son  of  David.  But  he 
spoke  of  suffering  many  things  at  the  hands  of  the 
priests  and  rabbis  and  of  being  put  to  a  shameful 
death.  At  length  we  came  to  Mount  Hermon.  It 
was  toward  the  close  of  the  day,  and,  weary  as 
we  were  with  journeying,  the  Master  signified  that  he 
would  go  apart  for  a  season.  So  he  climbed  the 
mountain  path  ;  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee  and  myself 

(104) 


IN    THE    MOUNT    OF    TRANSFIGURATION.  105 

following  close  after  at  his  desire  Far  to  the  west 
lay  the  Mediterranean,  glorious  in  the  sunset ;  and 
in  the  distant  east  the  Euphrates  ran  like  a  torrent  of 
blood  among  its  mountains  and  historic  ruins.  At 
length  we  paused,  and,  wearied  with  climbing,  fell 
asleep.  We  were  presently  awaked  by  the  murmur 
of  voices.  The  Master  was  changed  ;  his  coarse  blue 
garments  were  like  ermine,  his  face  was  all  aflame  as 
the  sun  shineth  in  his  strength,  and  two  companions 
were  with  him  whom  we  knew,  as  by  intuition,  to  be 
Moses  the  great  law-giver  and  Elijah  the  prophet  who 
had  ascended  a  thousand  years  before  in  a  chariot  of 
fire.  We  were  awe-struck,  amazed.  I  spoke  at 
length  :  '  Master,  let  us  make  here  three  tabernacles; 
one  for  thee,  one  for  Moses  and  one  for  Elias.'  I 
knew  not  what  I  said.  There  was  no  answer.  Then 
came  the  luminous  cloud,  the  Shekinah  which  long 
centuries  before  had  disappeared  from  above  the 
mercy-seat ;  and  as  it  folded  us  in  we  were  afraid. 
And  there  came  a  voice  out  of  the  most  excellent 
glory,  *  This  is  my  beloved  Son  ;  hear  ye  him.'  We 
had  fallen  upon  our  faces;  the  Master  touched  us,  we 
arose  and  looked  about  us.  The  glory  had  faded, 
the  celestial  visitants  were  gone  and  Jesus  stood 
alone.  The  years  have  passed  but  that  scene  is  fresh 
in  memory,  as  if  it  had  been  but  yesterday.  This  is 
no  fable.  We  are  under  no  delusion.  We  saw  this 
foregleam  of  the  great  apocalypse  when  he  shall  be 
King  over  all  and  blessed  forever.  We  heard  the 
voice  from  heaven.  How  can  our  faith  trembLe?  We 
believe  in  his  power.  We  believe  in  his  coming. 
We  shall  see  him  in  his  glory  in  the  great  day." 

Here  is  the  key  to  the  Transfiguration.     It  had  a 
double  purpose  : 


Io6  IN    THE    MOUNT    OF    TRANSFIGURATION. 

I.  It  was  intended  to  strengthen  Christ  for  his  supreme 
trial.  He  was  ever  mindful  of  the  redemptive  work 
which  he  came  to  accomplish.  He  lived  under  the 
shadow  of  the  cross.  And  he  was  of  like  passions 
with  ourselves  ;  he  dreaded  death.  The  sun  scorched 
him,  the  cold  chilled  him.  His  keen  sensibilities 
were  hurt  by  the  abandonment  of  his  friends.  He 
trembled  in  apprehension  of  the  awful  pain  of  the 
cross.  It  was  this  that  moved  him  to  say,  when  the 
purple  draught  was  put  to  his  lips  in  Gethsemane, 
"  O,  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible  let  this  cup  pass 
from  me  !  "  He  knew  the  anguish  ;  he  felt  aforetime 
the  piercing  of  the  nails,  the  fever  and  the  heart- 
break. He  needed  strengthening  and  the  Father 
was  mindful  of  his  need.  Not  for  an  instant  was 
Jesus  left  alone.  The  Father  himself  was  ever  near, 
angels  were  sent  to  minister  to  him,  and  now  the  two 
mighty  ones,  Moses  and  Elias,  representatives  of  the 
Old  Economy  of  Law  and  Prophecy,  were  come  to 
encourage  him. 

The  subject  of  their  conversation  with  him  was 
the  "  decease  which  he  was  to  accomplish  at  Jerusa- 
lem." At  this  juncture  all  heaven  was  interested  in 
that  event,  which,  as  it  was  the  culmination  of  all  the 
prophecy  and  all  the  symbolic  ceremonialism  of  the 
Old  Economy,  was  to  be  thenceforth  the  centre  of 
universal  history.  For  that  great  struggle  on  Golgo- 
tha they  had  come  to  cheer  the  divine  knight-errant, 
to  bind  the  girdle  of  omnipotent  patience  about  his 
loins.  It  is  not  difficult  to  surmise  the  substance  of 
what  they  would  say  to  him.  (i)  No  doubt  reference 
was  made  to  the  eternal  decree  respecting  the  great 
sacrifice.  Did  they  put  him  in  remembrance  of  the 
council   of  the    ineffable  Trinity  in   which  was  con- 


IN    THE    MOUNT    OF    TRANSFIGURATION.  107 

sidered  the  desperate  need  of  the  human  race,  when 
the  question  was  asked,  "  Whom  shall  we  send  to 
answer  this  cry  for  help  and  who  will  go  for  us  ?  " 
and  when  he  himself,  the  only  begotten  of  the 
Father,  had  answered,  "Here  am  I,  send  me  "?  Did 
Elias  put  him  in  remembrance  of  the  unbroken  line 
of  prophecy  running  from  the  protevangel  in  par- 
adise to  the  midnight  call  of  Malachi,  respecting 
himself  as  the  Lamb  of  God  slain  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world?  Did  Moses  remind  him  of  the 
significance  of  all  the  rites  and  symbols  of  the 
ceremonial  law  ;  the  paschal  lamb,  the  turtle  dove, 
the  blood  upon  the  brazen  altar,  the  blood  upon  the 
posts  and  curtain  of  the  tabernacle,  the  blood  upon 
the  mercy-seat,  the  blood  everywhere  ?  This  was 
indeed  the  ultimate  event,  the  great  consummation 
for  which  the  whole  creation  had  been  travailing  and 
groaning  together  until  now.  (2)  No  doubt  refer- 
ence was  also  made  in  this  conference  to  the  fact  that 
the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  was  the  forlorn  hope  of  man. 
By  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  deliverance 
must  come,  if  at  all.  There  was  none  other  name; 
there  was  none  other  way.  The  voice  of  the  great  mul- 
titude, who  were  all  under  the  doom  and  bondage  of 
sin,  would  appeal  to  him  with  infinite  pathos.  If  his 
flesh  shrank  from  the  awful  ordeal,  his  spirit  would 
grow  resolute  in  view  of  the  tremendous  issues  at 
stake.  It  is  said  of  the  good  King  Theodoric  that,  as 
he  sat  in  his  palace  he  saw  in  the  vision  the  famish- 
ing people  of  Orleans,  which  was  then  besieged  by 
the  Huns  ;  he  saw  them  stretching  out  their  hands  to 
him,  saw  their  gaunt  faces,  heard  their  voices,  men, 
women,  little  children,  all  calling  to  him,  "Thou,  or 
we  die  ! "     So  under  the  stimulation  of  this  confer- 


lo8  IN    THE    MOUNT    OF    TRANSFIGURATION, 

ence  with  Moses  and  Elias,  the  great  knight-errant 
may  have  heard  the  world  appealing,  "Thou,  or  we 
die  !  "  (3)  And  then,  too,  the  glorious  issue  was  can- 
vassed. It  had  been  prophesied  of  Messias  "When  he 
should  give  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin,  he  shall  see 
his  seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days  and  the  pleasure 
of  the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his  hand."  To  the  Lord 
now  entering  upon  his  mediatorial  anguish  the 
gates  of  heaven  appeared  wide  open  and  thronged 
by  the  great  multitude  who,  by  the  power  of  his 
atoning  blood,  should  enter  in.  Ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  and  thousands  of  thousands  all  breaking 
into  song,  as  they  crossed  the  threshold,  "Worthy  is 
the  lamb  that  was  slain,  who  hath  redeemed  us  out 
of  every  nation  and  kindred  and  tribe  ;  and  made 
us  to  be  kings  and  priests  unto  God  !  "  Was  it  so 
wonderful  that  his  face  was  changed  while  he  gazed 
upon  this  triumph  ?  Nay  ;  is  there  not  something 
like  this  in  the  experience  of  the  humblest  wor- 
shipper? Have  you  not  seen  the  wrinkles  vanish 
from  the  face  of  an  old  father  in  Israel  whose  dim 
eyes  were  lifted  toward  the  throne  f  There  is  a 
transfigurative  power  in  holy  contemplation.  As 
Jesus  saw  of  the  fruit  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  he  was 
satisfied.  The  light  withm,  the  light  of  a  pure  heart 
and  conscience  and  of  an  unspeakable  peace,  shining 
outwardly,  enveloped  him  until  he  was  indeed  clothed 
with  light  as  with  a  garment.  Thus  was  he  prepared 
for  the  great  sacrifice.  He  went  down  from  the 
mountain  ready  to  be  offered  and  set  his  face  stead- 
fastly toward  the  cross. 

II.  T/iis  vision  in  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  was 
intended  also  to  prepare  the  disciples  for  the  grievous  trials 
that  awaited  thefu.     A  tremendous  pressure  was  to  be 


IN    THE    MOUNT    OF    TRANSFIGURATION.  109 

put  upon  their  faith.  The  Christ,  in  whose  Messiah- 
ship  they  now  professed  to  believe,  was  to  be  exposed 
to  shame  and  spitting.  They  were  to  see  him  clothed 
in  ribald  purple  in  the  judgment  hall  and  scourged 
and  smitten  in  the  face.  They  were  to  see  him  led 
forth  wearing  a  crown  of  thorns  and  bearing  upon 
his  shoulders  a  shameful  cross.  Would  they  then  be 
able  to  believe  in  his  Messiahship  ?  Or  would  it 
appear  that  the  power  of  evil  had  overwhelmed  him  ? 
To  this  very  end  they  beheld  this  foregleam  of  his 
ultimate  glory.  And  it  occurred  at  the  very  moment 
when  they  most  needed  it.  The  sun  went  down 
yesterday  in  a  very  blaze  of  splendor  ;  the  day,  as 
you  remember,  was  drearily  overcast,  but  the  clouds 
cleared  away  as  evening  came,  and  O,  the  field  of 
cloth  of  gold  !  The  glassy  sea  !  The  archipelago 
of  rubies  and  sapphires  !  The  pearly  gates  rolled 
backward,  then  the  splendor  faded.  Slowly  the  gates 
closed,  the  shadows  fell  and  the  gloom  of  night  came 
on.  So  after  the  long  ministry  of  Jesus  came  this  sun- 
burst of  regal  splendor  and  then  the  anguish  of  the 
cross.  But  in  the  midnight  of  that  awful  experience 
when  the  disciples,  huddled  in  the  upper  chamber, 
knew  that  Jesus  yonder  on  Golgotha  was  dying  on 
the  cross,  there  were  those  among  them  who  remem- 
bered the  Mount  of  Transfiguration.  They  could  not 
but  believe  in  his  power.  Had  they  not  beheld  it  in 
the  mountain  ?  It  was  no  fable.  It  was  no  fond 
dream.  They  had  seen  him  with  heaven  s  refulgence 
all  about  him.  They  had  heard  the  voice  out  of  the 
excellent  glory,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son  !  " 

I.  We  may  arrive  at  a  conviction  respecting  the 
power  of  Christ  by  the  logical  method.  That  is,  we 
may   satisfy   ourselves    that    no  one  could  work  his 


no  IN    THE    MOUNT    OF    TRANSFIGURATION. 

miracles  or  utter  such  discourses  as  fell  from  his  lips  ; 
that  no  one  could  live  his  life  and  exhibit  to  the 
world  so  splendid  an  illustration  of  spotless  character, 
unless  he  were  indeed  the  very  Son  of  God.  It  was 
by  this  process  that  the  council  of  Nicea,  which  was 
called  in  the  year  312  by  the  Emperor  Constantine, 
was  able  to  determine  the  great  Christological  con- 
troversy. All  manner  of  heresies  had  arisen  in  the 
church  as  to  the  person  of  Christ.  For  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  controversy  delegates  were  sent  from  all 
Christendom,  and  among  them  came  two  from  Alex- 
andria in  Egypt,  who  proved  to  be  the  most  con- 
spicuous figures  in  the  council :  the  one  was  Arius, 
the  arch-heretic  and  father  of  Arianism,  known  as 
Unitarianism  in  later  days  ;  the  other  was  Athanasius, 
a  mere  stripling  of  twenty-five  years,  who  was  the 
defendant  of  orthodoxy  and  the  formulator  of  the 
creed  known  by  his  name,  which  has  ever  since  served 
as  the  Christological  symbol  of  the  Church  of  God. 
In  that  famous  council  the  question  of  the  divine 
power  of  Jesus  was  discussed  pro  and  con,  and  it  was 
formally  determined  that  Jesus  was  very  God  of  very 
God  no  less  than  very  man  of  very  man.  We 
may  thoughtfully  arrive  by  a  similar  process  at  a  like 
conclusion. 

2.  But  experience  is  a  better  teacher  than  reason. 
They  know  the  power  of  Jesus  who  have  felt  it.  I 
go  down  to  the  sea  shore  with  a  scientific  friend, 
who  carries  with  him  his  marine  tables  and  measur- 
ing lines,  and  as  we  stand  together  there  in  sight  and 
hearing  of  the  majestic  deep,  he  speaks  of  chemical 
analysis  and  great  measurements,  of  miles  and 
fathoms,  until  I  cry,  "Be  still!"  I  feel  all  this; 
the    roar   of   the    ocean   is    in    my   soul,   my    heart 


IN    THE    MOUNT    OF    TRANSFIGURATION.  in 

broadens  and  expands      I  feel  its  majesty.     I  know  it 
in  my  inmost  nature.     So  is  it  with  one  who  has  been 
under  the  mighty   touch  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
God.     His  logic  is  not  that  of  the  schools  but  rather 
that  of  the  blind  man,  who,  having  been  healed  of  his 
infirmity,  replied    to  the   carping  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, "  I   know  not   who  this   man    Jesus    is,  but  he 
came  and  touched    my  poor  eyes  and  whereas  I  was 
blind  now    I    see."     Did    you    ever     experience   the 
power  of    Christ,  my    friend  ?     Have  you  heard   his 
voice  ?     Oh  !  hear   him    but  once.     Let  him    lay  his 
cunning  finger  upon  your  blindness  for  but  an  instant 
and  never  more  will  you  doubt  his  power. 

3.  Both  the  logical  method  and  the  experimental 
method  receive  their  confirmation  in  the  voice  of  God. 
The  word  out  of  the  most  excellent  glory  was  not  for 
the  Chosen  Three  only.  We,  also,  may  go  up,  into 
the  mount  of  vision.  We,  also,  may  hear  the  voice 
saying,  "This  is  my  beloved  Son."  We  are  all  too 
common-place  ;  too  willing  to  live  down  in  the  mists 
of  the  valley.  The  mount  of  vision  calls  us.  We 
may  dream  dreams  and  see  visions,  if  we  will.  We 
may  hear  heavenly  voices,  if  we  will.  We  may 
breathe  the  mountain  air  with  God,  if  we  will. 

But  the  rhapsody— it  enheartens,  uplifts,  inspires, 
but  passes.  "Let  us  build  here  three  tabenacles," 
said  Peter  ;  but  he  wist  not  what  he  said.  We  can 
not  dwell  forever  in  sentimental  and  tearful  contem- 
plation. Life  has  its  dreams  and  visions  but  they  do 
not  constitute  it.  We  must  needs  go  down  out  of  the 
mountain.  At  the  foot  of  Hermon  was  the  demoniac 
boy  foaming  at  the  lips.  The  sin-stricken  world  was 
crying  for  help.  The  palm-fronds  of  far-away  Patmos 
were     beckoning    to    John.       The    prison-doors    at 


112  IN    THE    MOUNT    OF    TRANSFIGURATION. 

Babylon  were  rolling  back  for  Peter.  The  headsman 
stood  with  flashing  sword  calling  to  James,  "Come,  I 
await  thee."  Blessed  be  God  for  the  hours  of  vision. 
But  their  value  is  in  preparing  us  for  the  sterner 
tasks  and  responsibilities  of  life. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  Transfiguration  that  the 
chosen  three  were  assembled  with  their  fellow  dis- 
ciples on  the  slopes  of  Olivet.  All  stood  with  up- 
turned faces  gazing  after  their  ascended  Lord.  A 
cloud  had  received  him  out  of  their  sight  and  lo  !  two 
shining  ones  stood  beside  them — were  they  Moses  and 
Elias  come  again  ? — who  said,  "Why  stand  ye  gazing 
into  heaven  ?  He  shall  so  come  again  as  ye  have  seen 
him  go."  Thus,  they,  who  believed  in  his  power, 
were  henceforth  to  believe  in  his  appearing.  He 
shall  so  come.  Maranatha !  The  Lord  cometh  ! 
And  when  we  behold  him  again  he  will  be  clothed 
with  a  transcendent  glory  of  which  that  in  the  mount 
of  vision  was  but  the  faintest  foregleam.  And, 
blessed  be  his  name,  when  he  cometh  we  shall  be  like 
him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is.  His  triumph  will 
be  our  triumph  and  we  shall  sit  together  with  him  in 
his  throne.  Wherefore,  beloved,  be  ye  steadfast,  un- 
movable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord  ; 
forasmuch  as  you  know  that  your  labor  is  not  in  vain 
in  the  Lord. 


THE  INITIATION  OF  PETER  INTO  THE 
MYSTERIES  OF  THE  FAITH. 

"  For  we  have  not  followed  cunningly  devised  fables,  when  we  made  known 
unto  you  the  power  and  comingf  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  were  eye- 
witnesses of  his  majesty.  For  he  received  from  God  the  Father  honour 
and  glory,  when  there  came  such  a  voice  to  him  from  the  excellent 
glory.  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased.  And  this 
voice  which  came  from  heaven  we  heard,  when  we  were  with  him  in  the 
holy  mount."— II.  Pet.  i.  i6-i8. 

It  was  forty  years  since  Peter  had  witnessed  the 
Transfiguration  of  Christ.  But  that  event,  with  its 
accessories,  had  made  a  lasting  impression  upon  him. 
The  cloud,  the  face  of  Jesus  resplendent  "as  the  sun 
shineth  in  his  strength,"  and  the  voice  speaking  out 
of  "the  most  excellent  glory,"  all  these  were  as  fresh 
in  his  remembrance  as  if  they  had  happened  but 
yesterday.  In  the  meantime  Peter  had  travelled 
much,  had  seen  the  world  and  mingled  with  men,  but 
no  occasion  had  come  for  changing  his  mind  as  to 
the  profound  importance  of  the  things  which  hap- 
pened on  that  eventful  day. 

It  seemed  to  Peter  as  if  that  occurrence  had  been 
really  the  beginning  of  his  higher  life.  He  was  a 
mere  novice  before  that ;  now  he  was  an  initiate. 
That  is,  indeed,  the  meaning  of  the  word  here 
rendered  ''eye-witness."  It  is  a  technical  word  and 
has  specific  reference  to  the  initiation  of  novices  into 
the  mysteries  of  pagan  faiths.  All  the  ancient  re- 
ligions had  their  exoteric  and  esoteric  aspects  ;  one 
side   for   the    people,    another   for   the   chosen    few. 

("3) 


114         PETER  AND  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  FAITH. 

There  were  the  mysteries  of  Isis ;  and  the  mysteries 
of  Eleusis,  which  were  revealed  in  the  depths  of  the 
forest  or  in  subterranean  chambers  amid  mystic  rites 
and  ceremonies  and  under  inviolable  oaths.  "  Happy 
is  the  man,"  sings  Pindar,  "who  beholds  the  mys- 
teries below  the  resounding  earth."  In  the  religion 
of  Christ  there  are  indeed  no  secrets  from  which  the 
humblest  are  shut  out.  The  saving  truths  are  plain 
and  simple  ;  "  An  highway  shall  be  there,  and  a  way, 
and  it  shall  be  called  '  The  way  of  holiness '  ;  and  the 
wayfaring  man  though  a  fool  shall  not  err  therein." 
Yet  simplicity  itself  is  a  path  to  sublimity  and  pro- 
fundity. There  is  no  end  to  the  joyous  researches 
of  him  who  is  disposed  to  follow  out  the  simple 
truths  of  the  gospel  to  their  celestial  conclusions. 
Oh,  the  riches  of  this  wisdom  !  Happy  is  the  man 
that  goeth  up  into  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  to 
learn  the  mysteries  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

I.  At  the  outset  is  the  Mystery  of  the  God-man. 
Of  this  it  is  written,  "  Great  is  the  mystery  of  godli- 
ness, God  manifest  in  the  flesh  ;  the  angels  desire 
to  look  into  it."  The  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  being  of 
wood  overlaid  with  gold,  was  symbolical  of  the  two- 
fold nature  of  Christ.  On  the  golden  cover  of  that 
Ark  were  two  Cherubim  with  overshadowing  wings 
and  eyes  cast  down,  of  whom  it  is  written  "The 
angels  desire  to  look  into  it." 

How  shall  it  be  possible  for  a  finite  mind  to  grasp 
this  glorious  truth  ?  If  we  were  to  stand  under  the 
open  heavens  at  noon  and  see  the  sun  diminishing  in 
splendor  more  and  more,  shrivelling  in  its  dimensions, 
descending  slowly  from  its  place,  until  at  length 
it  fell  before  our  feet,  so  that  we,  stooping  to  take  it 
in  our  hands,  should  find  only  a  glow-worm    there, 


PETER  AND  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  FAITH.  I  15 

i 

we  should  think  it  an  unspeakable  wonder.  Yet  that 
would  be  incomparable  with  the  thing  that  happened 
when  God  came  down,  clothed  himself  in  flesh  and 
dwelt  among  us.  This  is  indeed  a  mystery.  It  is 
high  ;  we  cannot  attain  unto  it.  We  place  it  among 
the  innumerable  truths — and  they  are  found  in  nature 
as  well  as  in  grace — which  must  be  apprehended  by 
faith. 

It  was  only  a  few  days  before  the  Transfiguration 
that  Peter  had  witnessed  his  good  confession,  saying, 
"Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God." 
To  those  brave  words  the  Lord  had  made  immediate 
answer,  "  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-jona  :  for  flesh 
and  blood  hath  not  revealed  this  unto  thee,  but  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven  hath  revealed  it  unto  thee." 
The  mystery  of  the  God-man  is  at  the  very  basis  of 
our  religion.  No  question  is  more  important  than 
this,  "  What  think  ye  of  Jesus  f  "  It  is  an  old  saying, 
"The  secret  of  Messiah  is  the  secret  of  man."  We 
cannot  arrive  at  a  solution  of  the  problem  by  the 
ordinary  processes  of  reason  ;  we  shall  find  ourselves 
bafifled  if  we  thus  attempt  it.  But  God  is  ready,  by 
his  Spirit,  to  help  any  man  who  desires  to  know  the 
truth.  All  spiritual  truth  is  apprehended  by  faith 
and  faith  is  the  gift  of  God. 

II.  Another  of  the  mysteries  into  which  Peter  wds 
initiated  on  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  was  the 
Heart  of  the  Father.  The  world  knows  there  is  a 
God,  but  it  wants  to  know  what  are  his  nature  and 
attributes  ?  and  above  all,  what  is  his  attitude  to- 
ward us?  In  vain  do  we  appeal  to  nature  ;  the  earth 
rumbles  under  our  feet,  the  skies  are  lurid  and  the 
air  is  vibrant  with  the  voice  of  thunder;  there  are 
blazing  suns  and  scorching   winds,  fevers  and  pesti- 


Il6         PETER  AND  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  FAITH. 

lences.  In  vain  do  we  appeal  to  history  ;  it  is  the 
story  of  five  thousand  yearsof  wars  and  rumors  of  wars, 
of  killing  times  and  cursing  times,  of  Neros  and 
Hildebrands  and  Timours  wading  in  blood,  of  axe  and 
fagot,  of  shame  and  poverty  and  suffering,  of  uni- 
versal struggle  for  survival  of  the  fittest,  of  mobs  and 
anarchy  and  people  eating  one  another  up.  If  we  are 
ever  to  know  God,  he  must  speak  of  himself;  he 
must  uncover  his  own  heart  and  tell  us  in  some 
irrefutable  manner  that  he  loves  us.  And  this  he  has 
done  in  the  saying  which  is  written,  "God  so  loved 
the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son."  So 
loved  ! 

We  say  that  God  has  neither  body,  parts  nor 
passions.  We  say  that  God  cannot  suffer.  But 
could  he  send  forth  his  only  begotten  and  well- 
beloved  Son  to  such  a  fate  without  the  rending  of  his 
heart?  In  those  words  "  He  so  loved  "  there  is  an 
intimation  of  something  beyond  all  possibility  of 
human  grief.  Thefathers  who  gave  their  sons  for  the 
defence  of  the  Union  in  our  Civil  War  will  find  it 
hard  to  believe  that  God  could  give  his  only  begotten 
and  well-beloved  to  the  sure  death  of  Golgotha  with 
a  painless  complacency.  For  this  Jesus  was  his  only 
Son,  his  only  begotten  and  well-beloved,  fairer  than 
the  children  of  men. 

In  a  time  of  famine  in  Germany  a  certain 
family  was  reduced  to  the  last  extremity  of 
want.  A  neighboring  baron  had  long  desired  to 
adopt  one  of  the  children.  The  father  and  mother 
concluded  that  there  was  no  other  method  of  keeping 
the  wolf  from  the  door.  At  night,  when  the  children 
were  asleep  in  their  beds,  they  climbed  the  stairs  to 
determine   which    one  should   be    given    up.     They 


PETER  AND  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  FAITH.  Il'y 

looked  into  the  face  of  their  eldest  ;  a  noble  boy 
smiling  in  his  sleep  and  seeing  visions  and  dreaming 
dreams  of  the  coming  days  ;  they  could  not  give  him 
up.  Then  they  turned  to  the  fair-haired  lad  with  his 
mother's  eyes,  merry  and  mischievous,  the  life  of  the 
household  ;  they  could  not  give  him.  Then  to  the 
bed  where  their  crippled  girl  was  sleeping,  the  marks 
of  pain  wrinkling  her  little  face  ;  they  could  not  give 
her.  And  then  to  the  cradle  where  the  baby  was, 
the  last  born,  the  dimpled  cheek  that  had  rested  on 
its  mother's  breast ;  they  could  not  give  the  baby. 
So,  looking  into  each  other's  faces  across  the  crib, 
they  softly  said,  "  Let  us  rather  die  together."  O, 
blessed  mother  love  and  father  love  !  But  God  for 
our  sake  gave  his  only  Son.  This  is  the  supreme  and 
conclusive  revelation  of  his  love.  This  is  the  mystery 
of  the  Heart  of  God. 

So  it  is  written,  "  God  commendeth  his  love  to- 
ward us  in  that  while  we  were  yet  sinners  Christ  died 
for  us."  And  again,  "  In  this  was  manifest  the  love 
of  God  toward  us,  because  that  he  sent  his  only  be- 
gotten Son  to  the  world  that  we  might  live  through 
him."  And  thus  it  came  about  that  we  are  able  to 
comprehend  and  "  to  know  with  all  saints,  what  is 
the  length  and  breadth  and  depth  and  height  of  the 
love  that  passeth  knowledge  !  " 

III.  Still  another  of  the  mysteries  that  came -to 
Peter  that  day  was  the  Fountain  of  truth.  The 
earliest  of  the  patriarchs  said  :  "'Surely  there  is  a  vein 
for  the  silver  and  a  place  for  the  gold  where  they  fine  it. 
Iron  is  taken  out  of  the  earth  and  brass  is  molten  out  of 
the  stone.  He  setteth  an  end  to  darkness  and  searcheth 
out  to  the  furthest  bound  the  stones  of  thick  darkness  and 
of  the  shadow   of  death.     But  where   shall  wisdom    be 


Il8  PETER  AND  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  FAITH. 

found  and  where  is  the  place  of  understajiding  ?  Man 
knoweth  not  the  price  thereof  j  nciiJier  is  it  found  in  the 
land  of  the  living.  The  depth  saith,  It  is  not  in  me  :  and 
the  sea  saith,  It  is  not  with  me.  It  cantiot  be  valued  with 
the  gold  of  Ophir,  with  the  precious  onyx,  or  the  sapphire. 
No  niention  shall  be  made  of  coral,  or  of  pearls :  for  the 
price  of  wisdom  is  above  rubies.  Whence  then  cometh 
wisdom  ?  and  where  is  the  place  of  understanditig  ?  Seeing 
it  is  hid  frotn  the  eyes  of  all  living,  and  kept  close  from  the 
fowls  of  the  air."  The  answer  to  that  query  is  in  the 
word  that  was  uttered  from  the  most  excellent  glory  : 
"This  is  my  beloved  Son,  hear  ye  him  "  ;  which  finds 
an  echo  in  the  words  of  Jesus,  "  I  am  the  truth." 

All  spiritual  truth  rests  upon  three  postulates  and 
these  three  postulates  form  the  sum  and  substance  of 
the  teaching  of  Christ.  First — God.  He  taught  that 
God  is  spirit  and  that  when  we  pray  we  should  say, 
"Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven."  Second — The  soul. 
He  taught  its  immortality  and  responsibility  when  he 
propounded  that  insoluble  problem  :  "What  shall  it 
profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his 
own  soul  ?  Or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for 
his  soul  ?  "  Third — The  reconciliation  of  the  soul 
with  God.  He  taught  that  this  could  only  be  effect- 
ed by  the  decease  which  he  was  to  accomplish  in  be- 
half of  men.  On  the  day  when  he  conversed  with 
Moses  and  Elias  respecting  this  decease,  each  of  them 
could  recall  experiences  in  their  earthly  life  which  was 
inexplicable  without  it.  Moses  might  look  back  over 
the  lapse  of  fifteen  hundred  years  to  the  time  when 
he  was  commanded  to  raise  a  serpent  upon  a  pole  in 
the  wilderness  for  the  healing  of  those  who  had  been 
bitten  by  the  fiery  serpents  and  to  say,  "  He  that 
looketh  shall  live."     He  must  have  known  all  along 


PETER  AND  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  FAITH.  II9 

how  that  was  but  an  object  lesson  and  symbolic 
prophecy  of  some  great  saving  power,  and  now  all 
was  explained  in  this,  "As  Moses  lifted  up  the  ser- 
pent in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man 
be  lifted  up,  in  suffering  and  death,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish  but  have  everlast- 
ing life."  Elias,  also,  could  look  back  over  the  lapse 
of  nine  hundred  years  to  the  great  controversy  on 
Carmel  when  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice  streamed  over 
the  sides  of  Jehovah's  altar  ;  and  when  he  made  his 
calm  prayer,  "  O  God,  hear  and  answer  by  fire  ;  that 
the  people  may  know  that  thou  art  God  !  "  and 
when  the  fire  fell  from  heaven  and  consumed  the  sac- 
rifice ;  blood  and  fire  ;  again  a  prophetic  object  lesson 
as  to  some  tremendous  event.  All  is  clear  as  sunlight 
now.  This  Jesus  is  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world — an  whole  burnt  offering.  His  life 
consumed  in  our  behalf  by  the  fire  of  retribution 
which  had  gone  out  against  us.  So  God  was  in 
Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself, 

IV.  And  there  was  still  another  mystery  into 
which  Peter  was  initiated  on  that  momentous  day,  to 
wit,  the  two  worlds — the  world  visible  and  the  world 
invisible.  How  near  together  they  were  on  the  mount 
of  vision.  Here  are  three  men  still  living  the  earthly 
life  ;  yonder  are  two  who,  for  some  hundred  of  years, 
had  been  in  glory  ;  and  Christ  stands  upon  the  border 
line  between  them  ! 

We  were  taught  as  children  to  sing  of  heaven  as  a 
"happy  land,  far,  far  away."  But  heaven  is  not  far 
away.  From  the  slopes  of  Hermon  to  the  golden 
gates  is  less  than  a  single  footstep,  less  than  a  mo- 
ment of  time.  "  No  oceans  roll  between,  no  immeas- 
urable firmaments."     Indeed  there  is  nothing  between 


I20         PETER  AND  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  FAITH. 

but  a  gossamer  veil  which  the  touch  of  a  rude  finger 
may  withdraw  or  the  sting  of  an  insect  rend.  The 
souls  of  the  departed  are  nearer  than  we  think.  Is 
"Spiritualism"  true  then?  Nay.  Spiritualism,  so 
called,  is  the  reductio  ad  absiirdum  of  a  glorious  truth. 
We  must  believe  that  the  souls  of  the  departed  are  in 
better  business  than  tapping  tables  and  hiding  away 
in  pine  cabinets  and  talking  transcendental  nonsense. 
But  behind  this  folly,  as  behind  all  other  falsehoods, 
there  is  somewhat  of  truth.  Is  it  not  written,  "Are 
they  not  all  ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  minister 
unto  them  which  are  heirs  of  salvation  "  ?  It  is  true 
we  are  not  conscious  of  the  time  of  their  approach  ; 
and,  furthermore,  there  is  no  medium  of  communica- 
tion between  us.  It  is  apparently  not  God's  pleasure 
that  we  should  communicate  with  them.  But  we 
have  abundant  reason  to  believe  that  they  are  per- 
mitted to  minister  to  us  and  at  any  moment  they 
may  not  be  far  from  us. 

What  is  heaven  }  We  speak  sometimes  as  if  we 
knew,  but  all  our  information  is  based  upon  de- 
scriptions given  us  in  Holy  Writ ;  gates  of  pearl  and 
golden  streets  and  glassy  seas  and  songs  and  golden 
harps.  In  these,  however,  we  have  but  the  best  effort 
of  God  to  describe  to  finite  beings  the  glory  of  an 
infinite  celestial  thing.  How  could  he  picture  heaven 
to  us  ?  Try  to  describe  a  printing  press  or  a  philo- 
sophic truth  to  an  untutored  savage.  Or  try  to 
describe  Murillo's  picture  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception to  a  lad  in  pinafores.  I  stood  once  at  the 
Giant's  Causeway  holding  the  hand  of  a  friend  who 
had  been  blind  from  his  birth.  He  could  hear  the 
roll  of  the  mighty  deep  and  the  scream  of  the  sea- 
gulls, but,   as  he  said,  it  was  impossible  for  him   to 


PETER  AND  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  FAITH.  12  1 

conceive  the  scene  ;  the  great  basaltic  formations, 
the  ocean  rolling  in  against  the  cliffs  a  hundred  feet 
below  and  out  again  in  masses  of  fleecy  foam,  the 
vast  stretch  of  waters,  the  blue  canopy  above.  "  But 
O,"  he  said,  "I  feel  the  sublimity  of  it!"  So  we, 
with  all  our  dreaming  and  wondering,  fall  short  of 
any  just  conception  of  the  glory  of  the  unseen  world. 
A  great  surprise  awaits  us,  for  the  half  has  never  been 
told.  But  meanwhile  it  is  a  joy  to  realize  that  its 
splendors  are  everywhere  about  us. 

The  shadows  fell  on  Hermon  and  grew  deeper  as 
the  night  wore  on.  It  was  toward  the  early  twilight 
when  the  Chosen  Three  with  Jesus  went  down  the 
mountain  path.  They  spoke  in  low  voices,  looked 
upward  at  the  fading  stars — and  every  star  must 
have  seemed  like  a  new  promise  of  God — and  looked 
through  the  interstellar  spaces  with  a  new  wonder 
and  a  new  and  more  glorious  faith.  No  night  in 
heaven  ;  no  farewells  ;  no  breaking  up  of  life's  sweet 
chapters  with,  "Arise,  let  us  go  hence."  At  the  foot 
of  the  mountain  the  paths  of  these  men  diverged  ;  one 
went  to  lonely  Patmos  in  the  Aegean  Sea  ;  another 
passed  out  through  the  Damascus  gate  of  Jerusalem 
following  the  headsman  with  a  gleaming  axe  ;  and 
the  third  turned  his  steps  toward  Babylon  where  he 
was  to  spend  his  last  years  in  a  prison  cell.  But  they 
would  never  forget.  They  had  been  initiated  into 
the  mysteries  ;  the  vision  would  linger  and  the  echoes 
of  the  heavenly  voice  would  abide  with  them.  We 
too  would  go  down  from  the  mountain  to-day  to 
meet  the  responsibilities  of  life,  but  is  not  heaven 
nearer  than  it  was  and  do  not  yokes  and  crosses  seem 
lighter  now  ?  One  of  these  days  there  will  be  a  clos- 
ing of  the  eyes,  a  fluttering  breath  and  we  shall  be 


122  PETER  AND  THE  MYSTERIES  OF  THE  FAITH. 

there  !  The  faces  that  we  loved  are  fading,  the  voices 
that  say  farewell  grow  fainter  and  fainter  ;  but  faces 
that  we  lost  awhile  are  coming  into  clearer  view  and 
hands  that  we  had  longed  to  clasp  are  beckoning. 
We  are  there  !  The  cloud,  the  golden  mist,  is  all 
around  us  ;  the  face  "  as  the  sun  shineth  in  his 
strength  "  is  over  us  ;  and  the  voice  is  speaking. 
"This  is  my  beloved  Son."  Then  the  eternal  song. 
We  are  bowed  before  his  feet,  the  joy  of  heaven  is  in 
our  hearts,  and  in  our  voices  "Thou  art  worthy  to 
receive  honor,  and  glory,  and  power,  and  dominion 
for  ever  and  ever  ;  for  thou  wast  slain  and  hast 
redeemed  us  and  made  us  to  be  kings  and  priests 
unto  God  !  " 


THE  TAXING  UNDER  CYRENIUS. 

A  Christmas  fleditation. 

"  And  it  camt:  to  pass  in  those  days,  that  there  went  out  a  decree  from  Csesar 
Augustus,  that  all  the  world  should  be  taxed.  (And  this  taxing-  was  first 
made  when  Cyrenius  was  governor  of  Syria.)  And  all  went  to  be  taxed, 
every  one  into  his  own  city.  And  Joseph  also  went  up  from  Galilee,  out 
of  the  city  of  Nazareth,  into  Judaea,  unto  the  city  of  David,  which  is 
called  Bethlehem  ;  (because  he  was  of  the  house  and  lineage  of  David  :) 
to  be  taxed  with  Mary  his  espoused  wife,  being  great  witti  child.  And 
so  it  was,  that,  while  they  were  there,  the  days  were  accomplished  '.hat  she 
should  be  delivered.  And  she  brought  forth  her  first  born  son,  and 
wrapped  him  in  swaddling  clothes,  and  laid  him  in  a  manger  ;  because 
there  was  no  room  for  them  in  the  inn." — Luke  ii.  1-7. 

The  December  winds  were  sweeping  across  the 
hills  when  Joseph  and  Mary  set  out  upon  this  journey. 
The  distance  was  about  eighty  miles.  The  roads,  at 
all  times  difficult,  were  now  almost  impassable. 
Yonder  the  travellers  go — a  sturdy  peasant,  staff  in 
hand,  leading  by  the  bridle  a  panniered  mule  whereon 
sits  the  muffled  figure  of  a  woman.  There  were 
wonderful  scenes  along  the  way.  At  the  ford  of  the 
Kishon  they  heard  again  the  song  of  Deborah  :  "The 
stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera.  The 
river  of  Kishon  swept  them  away  ;  that  ancient  river, 
the  river  Kishon.  O,  my  soul,  thou  hast  trodden  down 
strength."  And  they  passed  under  the  shadow  of 
Gilboa,  where  the  shields  of  the  mighty  were  wildly 
cast  away  and  where  David  uttered  his  lament  for 
Saul  and  Jonathan — "  They  were  lovely  and  pleasant 
in  their  lives  and  in  their  death  they  were  not 
divided  !  They  were  swifter  than  eagles  ;  stronger 
than    lions.      How   are    the    mighty    fallen,   and    the 

(123) 


124  THE    TAXING    UNDER    CYRENIUS. 

weapons  of  war  perished  !  "  Still  further  on  they 
came  to  the  heights  of  Jezreel,  where,  if  it  were  at 
evening,  they  saw  the  glimmer  of  the  lamps  of 
Gideon's  three  hundred,  and  listened  to  the  song  that 
was  at  once  a  battle  paean  and  a  prophecy  :  "Then 
shall  be  broken  the  staff  of  the  oppressor  as  in  the 
day  of  Midian  ;  for  every  battle  of  the  warrior  is 
with  confused  noise  and  garments  rolled  in  blood, 
but  this  shall  be  with  fuel  of  fire  ;  for  unto  us  a  child 
is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given  ;  his  name  shall  be 
called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The  Mighty  God,  The 
Everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace  !  "  It  was 
probably  the  fourth  day  when  they  came  in  sight  of 
Bethlehem,  and  passed  the  fields  where  Ruth  had  fol- 
lowed after  the  reapers  and  the  pastures  where  David 
had  watched  his  flocks.  ,  Here  at  the  gate  was  the  well 
for  which  the  exiled  king  had  longed  when  he  was 
hunted  like  a  partridge  among  the  mountains,  saying, 
"  O  for  a  drink  of  the  water  of  the  well  beside  the 
gate  of  Bethlehem  ! "  They  entered  and  betook 
themselves  to  the  inn.  But  there  being  no  room  for 
them — so  many  of  their  countrymen  having  come  to 
Bethlehem  upon  a  like  errand  with  themselves — 
they  found  shelter  in  a  stable  near  by.  There  in 
the  night  the  great  mystery  of  life  was  enacted.  The 
Prince  was  born,  not  in  a  chamber  hung  with  purple 
tapestries,  but  in  a  humble  stall.  There  was  no  ring- 
ing of  bells,  no  crying  of  heralds  to  welcome  Emman- 
uel ;  the  fierce  winds  howled  without  and  earth  was 
all  unconscious  of  the  coming  of  the  Mighty  One. 

It  was  meet  that  this  event  should  occur  just  then. 
The  taxing  under  Cyrenius  marked  the  fulness  of 
time.  It  had  been  prophesied  that  "  the  sceptre 
should  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  law- giver  from 


THE    TAXING    UNDER    CYRENIUS.  125 

between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come."  The  enrol- 
ment of  Israel  under  the  Roman  authority  gave  token 
of  the  final  departure  of  all  national  power  from  Israel. 
The  throne  of  David  trembled,  the  scepter  fell ;  then 
Shiloh  came. 

The  taxing  here  referred  to— literally  an  enrolment 
or  census — has  occasioned  much  controversy.  It  has 
been  said  that  Luke  was  all  at  sea  in  his  chronology  ; 
that  a  census  of  this  character  was  indeed  taken  under 
Cyrenius,  but  that  he  was  governor  of  the  province 
ten  years  after  the  birth  of  Jesus.  It  has  been 
shown,  however,  by  comparison  with  secular  annals, 
that  Cyrenius  was  twice  governor  ;  and  that  it  was 
during  his  first  administration  that  he  began  the  tak- 
ing of  this  census,  which  was  interrupted  by  the  op- 
position of  the  Jews.  Thus  Scripture  vindicates 
itself.  The  Bible  is  a  true  book.  "The  heavens 
shall  be  rolled  together  like  a  scroll  and  the  earth 
shall  be  consumed  with  fervent  heat ;  but  the  word 
of  the  Lord  endureth  forever."  The  opposition  of 
hoslile  critics  has  merely  served  to  confirm  it. 

All  things  in  the  divine  economy  come  to  pass  in 
the  fulness  of  time.  The  first  child  that  ever  was  born 
on  earth  was  welcomed  with  the  cry,  "  I  have  gotten 
a  man  from  the  Lord  !  "  A  better  rendering  of  these 
words  seems  to  be,  "  I  have  gotten  a  man,  Jehovah  !  " 
It  is  probable  that  the  mother  supposed  her  child 
to  be  that  "  seed  of  woman  "  of  whom  it  had  been 
prophesied  that  he  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head. 
She  thought  that  already  the  Christ  was  come  for  the 
deliverance  of  the  race  from  sin.  Alas  !  like  many  a 
fond  mother  she  was  to  see  the  utter  disappoint- 
ment of  her  hope.  There  must  be  four  thousand 
years  of  waiting,  of  sin  and  suffering  ;   a  great  proces- 


126  THE    TAXING    UNDER    CYRENIUS. 

sion  of  souls  marching  through  the  ages  lock-step, 
quick-step,  into  the  unbroken  night.  Men's  hearts 
were  to  fail  them  ;  and  through  weary  centuries  they 
would  cry,  "  How  long,  O  Lord,  how  long  !  "  But 
God  is  not  slack  concerning  his  promises. 
"  Deep  in  unfathomable  mines  of  never  failing  skill 
He  treasures  up  his  bright  designs,  and  works  his  wonders 

still." 
The  striking  of  the  hour  was  marked  by  this  en- 
rolment of  Cyrenius.  All  prophecy  of  the  Christ 
came  to  its  fulfilment  just  then.  The  Old  Testament 
is  a  glowing  record  of  Messianic  prophecy.  We  open 
its  pages  at  the  protevangel  and  mark  the  face  of  the 
Christ  growing  brighter  and  brighter  as  we  pass  on  ; 
now  the  dim  figure  of  "the  seed  of  woman";  now  the 
royal  Son  of  David ;  a  little  later  we  mark  his  visage 
so  marred  more  than  any  man's,  defiled  with  shame 
and  spitting  ;  then  he  sits  upon  a  throne  high  and 
lifted  up,  the  Ancient  of  Days  ;  and  in  the  final  fore- 
gleam  of  Malachi  he  is  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  with 
healing  in  his  beams.  At  this  last  page  we  pause 
wondering  and  afraid.  Dare  we  turn  the  leaf  i  Will 
an  awful  disappoinment  meet  us  ?  Can  it  be  that 
through  all  the  centuries  we  have  comforted  our  hearts 
with  a  fallacious  hope  ?  With  fear  and  trembling  we 
turn  the  last  leaf,  and,  lo  !  Emmanuel,  God  with  us  ! 
The  timeliness  of  the  birth  of  Jesus  is  emphasized 
by  three  significant  facts  : 

I.  The  world  had  reached  its  climacteric  of  sin.  It  is 
sometimes  the  case  that  a  disease  cannot  be  success- 
fully treated  until  it  has  "come  to  a  head."  It  is  a 
curious  commentary  on  the  utter  insufficiency  of 
human  culture  that  the  world's  sin  came  to  its  full 
development  in  what  is  called  the  Golden  Age. 


THE    TAXING    UNDER    CYRENIUS.  1 27 

At  Rome  in  this  Golden  Age  of  Augustus  Caesar 
the  court  and  people  were  steeped  in  luxury  and 
licentiousness.  Virgil  was  writing  his  Eclogues  ; 
Horace  was  singing  his  Odes  ;  Livy  was  writing  his 
Annals.  What  feasts  there  were  !  What  glorious 
sports  in  the  amphitheatre !  At  this  time  Caesar 
gave  an  exhibition  in  which  six  hundred  gladiators 
fought  hand  to  hand.  And  Pompey,  not  to  be  out- 
done, brought  five  hundred  lions  into  the  arena.  The 
women  counted  their  divorces  by  rings  upon  their  fin- 
gers. There  were  fashionable  dames  of  the  Empire 
who  asked  for  decrees  of  defamation,  that  they  might 
mount  the  stage  and  exhibit  themselves  in  lascivious 
dances  in  honor  of  the  gods.  If  one  would  gain  a 
just  conception  of  the  corruptness  of  those  times,  let 
him  read  the  first  chapter  of  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Romans.  There  is  nowhere  else  in  all  literature  such 
an  indictment  against  the  children  of  men. 

In  Greece,  Zeuxis  and  Appelles  had  frescoed  the 
walls  of  homes  and  palaces  with  infinite  skill  ;  and 
Phidias  and  Praxiteles  had  carved  statues  of  such 
marvellous  beauty  as  to  challenge  the  emulation  of 
later  art.  Philosophy  had  done  its  best.  The  very 
summit  of  earthly  culture  had  been  reached.  The 
result  may  be  witnessed  in  the  frescoes  and  inscrip- 
tions taken  from  the  ruins  of  Pompeii  in  which  were 
presented  such  exhibitions  of  sin  and  shame  as  may 
not  even  be  mentioned  in  these  days.  When  Vesu- 
vius vomited  forth  her  suffocating  clouds  of  scoria 
and  ashes  upon  that  city,  it  was  but  the  just  expres- 
sion of  the  unspeakable  wrath  of  God. 

The  disease  of  the  race  had  reached  its  culmina- 
tion now.  There  was  no  soundness  in  the  body,  but 
from   head  to  foot  all  was  wounds  and  bruises  and 


128  THE    TAXING    UNDER    CYRENIUS. 

putrefying  sores.  The  time  had  come  for  the  calling 
in  of  the  Great  Physician.  If  man's  extremity  is 
God's  opportunity,  then  let  him  make  no  more  tarry- 
ing. The  whole  world  is  groaning  and  travailing 
for  him. 

II.  The  world  had  reached  its  consummation  of  want. 
It  had  been  predicted  that  when  the  Messiah  should 
come  he  would  be  "  the  desire  of  all  nations  "  ;  to  that 
end  there  must  be  a  complete  exposure  of  the  weak- 
ness of  all  other  plans  of  deliverance.  This  was 
true  at  the  time  of  the  advent  of  Christ.  The  old 
religions  were  practically  dead  ;  they  had  lost  all 
power  to  help  or  to  satisfy  the  souls  of  men. 

The  religion  of  the  Jews  had  come  to  be  a  system 
of  mere  form  and  ceremony.  The  temple  itself  was 
a  mere  whited  sepulchre,  fair  without  but  within  full 
of  dead  men's  bones  and  all  uncleanness.  The  relig- 
ious teachers  wore  broad  phylacteries  and  made  long 
prayers  on  the  corners  of  the  streets  ;  but  they  stood 
in  the  doorway  of  heaven,  neither  entering  in  them- 
selves nor  suffering  others  to  enter  in. 

The  gods  of  Rome  were  impotent.  Their  altars 
were  forsaken.  The  people  had  lost  all  confidence  in 
them.  The  priests,  as  they  passed  each  other  in  the 
sanctuaries,  smiled  in  each  others  faces  at  the  thought 
of  the  impositions  which  they  were  wont  to  practice. 

The  philosophers  of  Greece  could  not  help  or  re- 
deem men.  By  the  banks  of  the  Ilyssus  flourished 
the  Academy  and  the  Painted-Porch.  Platonism  was 
dreaming  of  the  possibility  of  spiritual  things  ;  Stoi- 
cism hardening  men  to  endure  ill  silently  ;  and  Epicu- 
reanism leading  its  followers  in  pursuit  of  the  present 
good.  Of  these  various  forms  of  philosophy  Gibbon 
says,  "All  the  prevailing  systems  were  by  the  wise 


THE    TAXING    UNDER    CYRENIUS.  1 29 

regarded  as  equally  false,  by  statesmen  as  equally 
necessary,  and  by  the  people  as  equally  true."  The 
skepticism  of  the  time  found  a  voice  in  the  bitter  word 
that  fell  from  the  lips  of  Pilate,  "  What  is  truth  ?" 

Was  there  then  no  eye  to  pity  and  no  arm  to  save? 
Shall  the  people  stretch  out  their  hands  in  vain  for 
help  forever  ?  Is  God  unmindful  of  their  need  ? 
Nay.  This  is  the  hour  for  which  the  centuries  have 
waited.  The  great  Deliverer  comes.  On  the  Judean 
hills  the  angels  tell  the  story  in  their  exultant  song  : 
"  To  you  is  born  this  day  in  the  city  of  David,  a 
Saviour  which  is  Christ  the  Lord.  Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest,  peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  men." 

III.  The  fulness  of  time  of  the  advent  of  the 
Messiah  is  still  further  marked  by  the  fact  that  the 
nations  had  completed  their  contribution  to  this  great  event. 
The  titidian  which  was  hanged  on  the  neck  of  Jesus, 
when  he  bore  His  cross  to  Calvary,  was  written  in 
three  languages — Hebrew,  Latin  and  Greek.  At  that 
period  these  were  the  tongues  spoken  by  the  three 
great  nations  of  the  earth. 

The  Jews  were  a  chosen  people.  They  had  been 
chosen  to  a  specific  task,  namely,  to  perpetuate  the 
worship  of  the  one  true  God  and  to  keep  the  oracles 
with  their  Messianic  prophecies  and  pass  them  down 
along  the  coming  ages.  It  was  appropriate  that  now 
their  sovereignty  as  a  distinct  people  should  pass  from 
them,  for  they  had  finished  their  work. 

The  Greeks  contributed  their  part  in  the  formula- 
tion of  a  language  which  should  serve  as  a  most  val- 
uable vehicle  for  the  expression  of  religious  truth. 
It  is  no  accident  that  the  New  Testament  was  written 
in  Greek.  The  philosophic  culture  of  that  nation 
had   necessitated  the  forming  of  a  language   which 


130         THE  TAXING  UNDER  CYRENIUS. 

above    all    others    is    adapted    to    the    utterance  of 
spiritual  things. 

And  Rome  had  conquered  the  world.  The  decree 
of  Cyrenius  calling  for  a  universal  enrolment  was  an 
announcement  of  this  fact.  All  nations  had  passed 
under  the  yoke  of  the  Great  Empire.  The  Caesars 
had  built  roads  in  all  directions  for  the  transporting 
of  their  legions  to  the  remotest  colonies.  These 
roads  were  to  serve  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ.  The  king's  heart  is  indeed  in  the  hand  of 
the  Lord  as  the  rivers  of  water.  Could  there  be  a 
more  convincing  proof  of  the  divine  wisdom  than  this, 
that  he  should  so  have  subsidized  the  Caesars  in 
preparation  for  the  coming  of  the  Prince  and  for  the 
spreading  of  the  gospel  of  peace,  that  the  highways 
which  they  had  built  for  their  victorious  armies 
should  be  paths  for  those  whose  feet  are  beautiful, 
because  they  bring  glad  tidings  of  salvation  ? 

Thus  all  things  were  ready.  When  the  clock 
struck  in  heaven  it  was  Caesar  Augustus  that  gave 
the  signal  here  below.  Then  the  last  of  the  prophets 
uttered  his  voice,  "  Prepare  ye,  prepare  ye,  the  way 
of  the  coming  of  God  ;  for  there  cometh  one  whose 
shoe's  latchet  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose.  Behold 
the  Lamb  of  God  !  "  All  prophecy  is  closed,  now 
history  begins  ;  the  Son  of  God  is  here,  the  joy  of 
the  advent  season  is  ours. 

"When  Christ  was  born  of  Mary  free 
In  Bethlehem  that  fair  citie. 
Angels  sang  with  mirth  and  glee, 
'  In  Excelsis  Gloria.'" 

Blessed  be   God   for  his  unspeakable  gift.     We  need 
him.     Souls  desire  him  as  the  hart  panteth  after  the 


THE    TAXING    UNDER    CYRENIUS.  131 

water  brooks.  He  came  to  the  world  in  the  fulness 
of  time.  He  comes  at  this  advent  season  to  us.  To- 
day may  be  for  some  soul  here  the  fulness  of  time. 
Let  us  open  the  gates  and  admit  him,  that  this  Christ 
may  be  our  Christ  forever  ;  that  living  with  him  and 
dying  with  him,  we  may  also  be  glorified  together 
with  him. 


THE  NEW  YEAR. 

"  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,"  which  have  brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt 
out  of  the  house  of  bondage." — Ex.  xx.  2. 

The  children  of  Israel  would  probably  have  been 
unable  to  tell  how  they  came  to  be  in  abject  bondage. 
It  was  not  a  sudden  thing.  They  were  not  pounced 
upon  by  the  Egyptians  and  carried  away  in  chains 
to  the  brick  kilns.  They  had  come  into  the  land  at 
the  invitation  of  Pharaoh  to  better  their  condition. 
They  had  come  with  their  baggage-wagons  and 
driving  their  flocks  and  herds  before  them.  They  had 
settled  in  the  rich  pasture  lands  of  Goshen  and  so 
lived  happy  and  content  for  a  while.  Then  Joseph, 
their  royal  patron,  died,  and  in  the  reigns  of  succeed- 
ing Pharaohs  their  privileges  were  taken  away  one  by 
one  and  their  burdens  increased.  The  pyramids 
must  be  built,  the  Israelites  were  forced  into  the 
service  ;  they  accepted  the  situation  because  it 
seemed  hopeless  to  contend  against  it.  They  were 
driven  in  gangs  to  the  brick-yards  where  they  toiled 
under  task-masters  who  wielded  whips  of  scorpions. 
They  were  required  at  length  to  make  their  tale  of 
bricks  without  straw.  Life  had  come  to  be  a  weari- 
ness. Their  backs  were  sore  and  bleeding.  The 
manhood  was  crushed  out  of  them.  All  through  the 
day  they  cried,  "Would  God  it  were  night !  "  and  all 

(132) 


THE    NEW    YEAR.  133 

through  the  sleepless  hours  of  the  night  they  moaned, 
*'  Would  God  it  were  morning  !  " 

Is  not  this  an  apologue  of  life  ?  We  set  out  years 
ago  with  bright  dreams  and  aspirations  ;  as  we  passed 
on,  the  world  assumed  a  more  serious  aspect ;  our 
tasks,  our  pleasures,  our  splendid  ambitions,  which 
had  formerly  beckoned  us  with  smiles,  now  became 
our  task-masters  ;  they  took  their  scourges  from 
behind  their  backs  and  lashed  us.  Now  we  are 
groaning  under  our  bondage.  We  are  slaves  to  the 
workshop,  to  social  life,  to  Wall  Street,  to  our  am- 
bitions, to  old  habits  and  appetites.  The  fetters  are 
riveted.     God  help  us  ! 

The  past  is  cir  Egypt  and  the  God-man  of 
Nazareth  is  our  deliverer.  To  the  hall  of  Pharaoh 
came  Moses  demanding  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Let 
my  people  go."  The  struggle  was  short,  spirited,  and 
conclusive  in  its  results.  It  was  night  when  the 
children  of  Israel  went  forth.  One  by  one  the  lights 
in  the  homes  of  Egypt  were  quenched,  but  the  lamps 
of  the  Hebrews  burned  on.  The  mothers  were 
kneading  dough,  the  fathers  were  packing  their 
bundles  ;  the  paschal  lambs  were  slain,  the  house- 
holds gathered  about  the  table,  the  men  harnessed 
for  their  journey — girdles  about  their  loins,  sandals 
under  feet,  staves  in  hand.  Up  yonder  on  the  lintel 
of  the  door  was  blood  ;  blood  that  spoke  of  deliyer- 
ance  ;  the  purchase  price  of  a  glorious  liberty.  The 
night  wore  on.  It  was  midnight  now  when  a  wail  of 
sorrow  was  heard.  The  lights  in  the  palace  were 
kindled  ;  lights  in  all  the  homes  of  the  city  ;  weeping 
and  wailing  for  the  first  born.  It  was  the  signal ! 
The  children  of  Israel  passed  out  through  the  blood- 
stained  door-ways,  along  the  dimly  lighted   streets, 


134  THE    NEW    YEAR. 

through  the  great  gates,  into  the  broad  highways— « 
men,  women,  children,  more  than  two  million  souls. 
Out  of  Egypt  they  went  with  their  faces  toward 
the  wilderness  and  toward  the  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey  that  lay  beyond  it.  They  looked 
backward ;  the  old  homes  were  there,  the  graves 
of  their  fathers  were  there.  Farewell,  Egypt ! 
Farewell  ! 

The  past  is  our  Egypt  and  Jesus  leads  us 
forth. 

I.  A  backward  glance.  It  is  the  season  for  re- 
viewing the  past.  To  forget  is  our  Christian  privi- 
lege— to  *'  forget  the  things  which  are  behind."  But 
the  old  year  can  never  wholly  slip  from  our  remem- 
brance. 

(i)  Its  joys.  The  Lord  be  praised  for  all  the 
pleasures  gone  by.  But  the  future  holds  brighter 
things  in  store  for  us.  There  are  people  who 
find  a  sad  comfort  in  the  remembrance  of  delights 
gone  by.  "A  year  ago  to-day,"  they  say,  "we 
were  sailing  down  the  St.  Lawrence  among  the 
Thousand  Isles  "  ;  or,  "  A  year  ago  to-day  we  were 
among  the  orange  groves  in  Florida."  There  is 
an  oriental  proverb,  "  The  remembrances  of  past 
happiness  are  the  wrinkles  of  the  soul."  To  re- 
call the  pleasant  things  gone  by  at  the  expense  of 
gladsome  hope  and  courage  is  indeed  to  cut  the 
sinews  of  our  strength.  It  was  quaintly  said  by 
Thomas  Fuller  :  "  Memory  is  like  a  purse  ;  if  it  be 
overfilled  all  will  drop  out  of  it.  Take  heed  lest  the 
greediness  of  the  appetite  of  thy  memory  shall  spoil 
the  digestion  thereof."  As  the  years  come  and  go, 
the  experiences  of  the  past  gain  an  illusory  bright- 
ness through  the  glamour,  and  detract  from    the  real 


THE    NEW   YEAR,  135 

value  of  present  joy.  There  is  a  genuine  touch  of 
nature  in  the  poet's  words  : 

"  I  remember,  I  remember,  the  house  where  I  was  born, 
The  little  window  where  the  sun  came  peeping  in  at  morn  ; 
He  never  came  a  wink  too  soon,  nor  brought  too  long  a  day. 
But  now  I  often  wish  the  night  had  borne  my  breath  away." 

The  Israelites,  as  they  journeyed  through  the  wilder- 
ness, were  wont  in  like  manner  to  recall,  with  fond 
remembrance,  the  flesh-pots  of  Egypt.  O  !  if  we 
could  only  sit  down  again  at  the  table  in  the  humble 
home  as  we  used  to  do  when  the  good  man  came  weary 
from  the  brick-yard  and  we  partook  of  the  mess  of 
leeks  and  lentils.  But  could  they  have  seen  beyond 
the  haze  that  gathered  toward  the  north,  lo,  on 
yonder  heights  were  the  vineyards  of  Eschol.  Yonder 
were  grapes  and  pomegranates,  and  happy  homes  and 
fertile  fields  awaiting  them.  Cheer  up,  friend,  there 
are  brighter  days  ahead;  the  joys  of  the  old  year  were 
only  earnests  of  those  that  shall  be.  Press  on  !  In- 
stead of  murmuring  for  the  delights  of  the  former 
time,  reach  forth  toward  the  nobler  pleasures  which 
shall  come  to  thee  through  faith  in  God. 

(2)  Its  sorrows.  In  the  old  year  many  a  burden 
was  put  upon  us.  There  were  disappointed  hopes, 
and  adversities  and  bereavements.  Some  of  the 
dear  faces  are  gone.  It  is  impossible  not  to  remember 
them  now.  There  is  a  wonderful  pathos  in  the  old 
song  : 

"  Oft  in  the  stilly  night 

Ere  slumber's  chain  has  bound  me, 
Fond  memory  brings  the  light 
Of  other  days  around  me  : 
The  smiles,  the  tears. 
Of  bygone  years. 


136  THE    NEW    YEAR. 

The  words  of  love  then  spoken  ; 

The  eyes  that  shone, 

Now  dimmed  and  gone, 
The  cheerful  hearts  now  broken  ' 

"  When  I  remember  all 

The  friends  so  linked  together, 
I've  seen  around  me  fall 

Like  leaves  in  wintry  weather, 
•    I  feel  like  one 
Who  treads  alone 
Some  banquet  hall  deserted, 
Whose  lights  are  fled, 
Whose  garlands  dead, 
And  all  but  him  departed  !  " 

For  all  this  there  is  comfort  in  the  philosophy  of 
Zeno,  "It  cannot  be  helped;  let  us  bear  it."  But 
there  is  vastly  more  of  comfort  in  the  philosophy  of 
Christ,  "  No  affliction  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be 
joyous,  but  grievous  :  nevertheless,  afterw^ard  it 
yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  unto 
them  that  are  exercised  thereby."  And  this,  "All 
things  work  together  for  good  " — all  things  ;  that  is, 
the  joys,  the  triumphs,  the  pains,  the  sorrows,  the 
disappointments,  all — "  to  them  that  love  God." 

The  children  of  Israel  took  out  of  Egypt  with 
them  the  mummy  of  Joseph.  No  doubt  many  a  man 
in  the  sad  experiences  of  the  wilderness  journey 
came  into  the  holy  tent  where  that  memorial  was 
kept  and  bowed  down  under  the  hieroglyphics  that 
were  written  upon  the  mummy  case,  and  pleaded  his 
case  with  tears  :  "  O  thou  God  of  Joseph  !  hast  thou 
forgotten  to  be  gracious  ?  Shall  pain  and  trouble 
and  hungering  be  our  portion  forever?"  And  was 
there  no  answer  ?  Aye  ;  the  still  voice  that  ever 
speaks   to    a  pleading   soul:  "This   journey   brings 


THE    NEW    YEAR.  I37 

thee  to  the  heights  of  Canaan.  All  things  are  for  thy 
good.  Thou  shall  enter  in  with  bronzed  face  and 
sturdy  limbs  and  eyes  brightened  with  noble  hopes 
and  purposes  ;  a  better  man  for  thy  thirst  and 
hungering  and  weariness."  So  even  in  the  re- 
membrance of  our  sorrows  we  may  pluck  up  courage 
for  coming  days. 

(3)  Its  sins.  A  year  ago  we  were  making  resolu- 
tions and,  alas  !  we  have  broken  them.  Day  after 
day  we  found  ourselves  betrayed  into  the  habits  of 
our  former  life  and  bowed  down  at  evening  to  pray, 
"Have  mercy  upon  me,  O  God,  for  I  have  sinned." 
And  now  again  we  come  to  the  border  line  of  the 
years,  and  the  old  sins  are  following  hard  after  us. 

So  was  it  with  the  children  of  Israel  when  they 
came  down  to  Pa-hahiroth  and  encamped  by  the  sea. 
Some  one  heard  afar  off  the  rumbling  of  chariot 
wheels  ;  then  another,  shading  his  eyes,  said,  "I  see 
the  gleam  of  spear-points  and  waving  banners ! " 
Then  the  cry  was  raised,  "  The  hosts  of  Pharaoh  ! 
they  pursue  us  !  "  Then  the  terror  of  weak  women 
and  children,  a  panic  throughout  the  camp.  "What 
shall  we  do?  We  are  entangled  between  the  moun- 
tains and  the  sea  !  "  What  could  they  do  ?  Nothing. 
And  Moses  said,  "  Stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of 
your  God  !  " 

Is  there  nothing  like  this  in  our  personal  experi- 
ence ?  Have  the  old  things  passed  away  ?  Have  we 
so  rid  ourselves  of  the  Egyptians  that  they  trouble 
us  no  more  ?  Alas !  the  chariots  of  the  host  of 
Pharaoh  come  clattering  after  us  ;  pride  and  world- 
liness,  envies  and  jealousies,  evil  appetites  and  un- 
holy ambitions.  Here  they  come  driving  furiously. 
What  shall  we  do  ?     Stand  still !     Stand  still  and  see 


138  THE    NEW    YEAR. 

the  power  of  God.  The  blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  means  not  only  the  wiping  out  of  penalty,  but 
manumission.  It  is  effective  all  the  way  from  the 
gates  of  Egypt  to  the  plains  of  Canaan.  The  grip  of 
that  blood  should  hold  a  man  forever.  We  cannot 
deliver  ourselves,  but  God  is  a  great  deliverer.  Let 
us  throw  ourselves  upon  his  omnipotence.  By  faith 
our  weakness  is  made  strength.  O  God  of  Almighty 
Grace,  the  earth  "is  thine  and  the  sea  ;  roll  back  the 
waves  and  drown  our  pursuing  foes  !  His  help  as- 
sures the  paean  of  victory.  "  I  will  sing  unto  the 
Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed  gloriously.  Who  is  like 
unto  thee,  O  God,  glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in 
praises,  doing  wonders  ?  Thou  hast  led  forth  the 
people  whom  thou  hast  redeemed."  The  promise 
that  was  given  to  Israel  in  their  terror  is  ours,  also, 
if  we  claim  it,  "As  for  the  Egyptians  ye  shall  see 
them  no  more  forever."  Our  sins  are  gone  if  faith 
will  have  it  so — dead  as  the  charioteers  whose  bodies 
came  floating  to  the  shore  of  the  sea. 

II.  So  much  for  the  past.  Now  welcome  the 
future.  A  forward  glance.  Vast  stretches  of  wilder- 
ness, toils  and  dangers,  hot  suns  and  blazing  sands, 
and  the  mountains  beyond. 

Let  us  take  with  us  into  the  coming  year  three 
words  of  power  : 

(i)  Character.  It  is  written  of  these  Israelites  that 
they  carried  with  them  none  of  the  leaven  of  Egypt. 
If  any  one  partook  of  leaven  during  the  great  feast, 
from  the  first  until  the  seventh  day,  he  was  cut  off 
from  Israel.  It  was  the  custom  to  go  about  the  tents 
with  a  lighted  lamp  searching  for  leaven  in  every 
nook  and  cranny.  Leaven  was  an  emblem  of  the  life 
of  old  Egypt, — the  worship  of  Apis  and   Osiris.     In 


THE    NEW    YEAR.  139 

the  Scriptures  it  is  ever  a  type  of  sin;  so  says  Paul  to 
the  Corinthians,  "  Purge  out  the  old  leaven,  for  Christ 
is  made  a  sacrifice  for  us  forever.  Let  us  keep  the 
feast  not  with  the  old  leaven  of  malice  and  wicked- 
ness, but  with  the  unleavened  bread  of  sincerity  and 
truth."  Let  me  exhort  you  as  we  cross  this  border 
line  of  time  to  put  away  the  last  remnant  of  sin  ;  to 
bring  no  leaven  out  of  Egypt  with  you.  Pass  into 
the  new  year  free  from  your  bondage.  Put  off  more 
and  more  the  old  man,  and  put  on  more  and  more  the 
virtues  of  the  new  man  Christ  Jesus.  By  the  holy 
passover  of  Calvary,  by  the  memory  of  him  who  leads 
us  forth  out  of  bondage  let  us  go  unencumbered  and 
undefiled  into  the  coming  year. 

(2)  Kindness.  In  this  word  are  embraced  all  the 
duties  which  we  owe  to  our  fellow-men.  The  word 
itself  is  most  significant  ;  it  is  cognate  with  the  word 
"kin."  To  be  kind  is  to  be  "  kinned  "  ;  that  is,  to 
follow  out  the  thought  of  our  kinship  with  all.  The 
Israelites  went  out  of  Egypt  a  surging  mob  ;  on 
entering  the  wilderness  they  began  their  national 
life.  Previously  every  man  had  lived  for  himself  ; 
now  all  were  to  live  for  the  nation  and  each  for  his 
fellow-men.  The  beginning  of  Christianity  is  in  a 
recognition  of  the  solidarity  of  the  race.  We  are 
bound  together  in  Christ  as  the  Elder  Brother  ;  all 
a-kin  in  him.  We  enter  through  his  mediatorship 
into  a  recognition  of  the  brotherhood  of  man  in  th'fe 
fatherhood  of  God. 

We  hear  much  of  "altruism  "  in  these  days.  The 
word  is  new,  but  the  thing  itself  is  old  as  the  gospel 
of  Christ.  Christianity  is  unselfishness.  Its  supreme 
expression  is  in  two  divine  words  :  "  Whatsoever  ye 
would  that  others  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so 


140  THE    NEW    YEAR. 

unto  them,"  and  "Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto 
one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me." 

The  new  year  will  offer  countless  opportunities  of 
doing  good.  We  shall  be  called  upon'  to  stretch 
forth  the  helpful  hand,  to  speak  the  comforting  word, 
to  put  the  cup  of  cold  Vv'ater  to  thirsty  lips.  And  in 
so  doing  we  shall  be  realizing  the  very  best  of  human 
life.     For  it  is  true,  as  old  John  Sterling  wrote  : 

"  'Tis  worth  the  wise  man's  best  of  life, 
'Tis  worth  a  thousand  years  of  strife, 
If  thou  canst  lessen,  but  by  one, 
The  countless  ills  beneath  the  sun." 

(3)  Piety.  Now  abide  these  three  ;  character, 
kindness,  piety,  but  the  greatest  of  all  is  piety.  For 
in  the  last  reduction  the  chief  end  of  man  is  to  glorify 
God.  Let  us  write  his  name  large  in  the  "history  of 
the  coming  year.  Have  we  learned  it.?  Have  we 
apprehended  the  full  significance  of  it  ?  This  is  life 
eternal,  to  know  God.  And  this  is  the  sum  of  the 
Law  and  the  Prophets,  To  love  God  and  to  love 
our  fellow-men. 

And  now  I  wish  you  all  a  happy  New  Year.  We 
shall  fall  short  unless  we  begin  aright.  To  enter 
upon  the  future  with  the  sins  of  the  past  would  be 
like  going  down  a  crowded  thoroughfare  with  a  ball 
and  chains  upon  one's  ankle.  Let  us  not  so  handi- 
cap our  success  in  coming  days.  The  cross  is  here 
and  upon  it  the  Christ  is  stretching  out  his  hands 
ready  to  forgive.     His  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin. 

The  rabbis  have  a  legend  that  on  that  Passover 
night,  when  the  Israelites  were  awaiting  a  signal  for 
their  departure,  there  was  in  one  of  the  Jewish  homes 


THE    NEW    YEAR. 


141 


a  sick  girl,  who  asked  her  father  repeatedly  if  the 
blood  had  been  sprinkled  on  the  lintel  of  the  door. 
Not  satisfied  with  his  repeated  assurances  that  the 
servant  had  properly  attended  to  it,  she  begged  him 
for  her  sake  to  go  and  see.  He  went  outside  the 
door  and  looked  and  no  blood  was  there.  He  made 
haste  to  bring  the  basin  with  the  hyssop  branch  and 
had  just  sprinkled  the  lintel  when  a  shadow  fell  over 
him  ;  he  looked  upward  and,  lo  !  the  destroying  angel 
was  passing  by.  Oh,  friends,  it  would  be  a  great 
mistake  if  any  of  us  were  to  close  this  year  and  enter 
upon  the  future  without  having  attended  to  the  one 
thing  needful.  Let  us  bend  our  knees  and  make  one 
trustful  prayer  that  for  Jesus'  sake  our  sins  may  be 
blotted  out. 

Then  on  into  the  future  with  mighty  faith  in  God. 
No  sooner  had  these  fugitives  passed  through  the 
gates  of  Egypt,  than  yonder  in  the  night  before  them 
rose  the  pillar  of  fire,  and  all  through  their  journey- 
ing it  led  the  way, — a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  of 
fire  by  night.  If  God  thus  go  before  us  into  the 
future,  all  is  well. 

A  happy,  happy  New  Year  to  you  all.  It  means  a 
year  of  rejoicing  in  the  pardon  of  sin.  A  year  of 
earnest  endeavor  in  behalf  of  others.  A  year  of 
simple  trust  in  the  God  and  Father  of  us  all.  The 
Lord  now  bless  you  and  keep  you  ;  the  Lord  make 
his  face  to  shine  upon  you  and  be  gracious  unto  you; 
the  Lord  lift  up  the  light  of  his  countenance  upon 
you  and  give  you  peace. 


THE  SUNDAY  SALOON. 

"J  would  thai  ihey  were  even  cut  off  which  trouble  you;  for,  brethren,  ye 
have  been  called  unto  liberty." — Gal.  v,  12. 

The  Stamp  Act  went  into  operation  in  America  on 
November  ist,  1759.  In  the  City  of  New  York  it  was 
proclaimed  under  the  skull  and  cross-bones  instead 
of  the  royal  arms;  and  the  people  paraded  the  streets 
carrying  a  banner  on  which  was  inscribed  "  England's 
folly  and  America's  ruin."  In  Boston  the  event  was 
signalized  by  the  tolling  of  bells  ;  the  flags  on  the 
ships  in  the  harbor  were  at  half-mast.  In  the  old 
West  Church  a  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev. 
Jonathan  Mayhew  on  this  text :  "  I  would  that  they 
were  even  cut  off  which  trouble  you  ;  for,  brethren, 
ye  have  been  called  to  liberty."  It  was  a  famous 
sermon  on  the  right  of  the  colonies  to  self-govern- 
ment. An  eloquent  presentation  was  made  of  their 
devotion  to  motherland  ;  their  lavish  contribution  to 
her  exchequer  ;  the  jeopardizing  of  life  in  her  behalf 
on  the  high  places  of  the  field.  And  this  was  their 
reward  ;  a  betrayal  of  their  simplest  rights  and  most 
important  interests. 

The  people  of  New  Vork  have  recently  passed 
through  a  political  revolution.*  There  never  was  a 
more  enthusiastic  mustering  of  the  clans  in  behalf  of 


*  This  sermon  was  preached  immediately  after  the  inauguration  of  muni- 
cipal magistrates  elected  on  the  "  Reform  Ticket"  November  6th,  1894. 

(142) 


THE    SUNDAY    SALOON.  143 

municipal  regeneration.  All  sorts  and  conditions  of 
right-thinking  people,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  Romanists 
and  Protestants,  united  under  the  magic  legend, 
"Reform."  The  smoke  of  that  conflict  has  scarcely- 
cleared  away  when  the  startling  announcement  is 
made  that  our  newly  elected  Legislature  may,  at  the 
behest  of  certain  of  our  municipal  magistrates,  lend 
itself  to  the  overturning  of  the  American  Sabbath 
and  the  concession  of  increased  privilege  to  the 
liquor  traffic.  It  is  proposed  to  so  amend  the  exist- 
ing Excise  Laws  as  to  introduce  what  is  called  the 
"Ohio  plan" — by  which  the  saloon  keeper  is  to  be 
permitted  to  carry  on  his  business  on  the  payment  of 
a  fee  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars — with  "  local 
option  "  respecting  the  opening  ot  dram  shops  on  the 
Lord's  Day. 

It  will  be  seen  that  two  questions  are  involved. 
On  the  one  hand,  an  increase  of  the  privileges  of  the 
dram-shop.  At  this  point  there  is  no  difference  of 
opinion  among  right-thinking  people  of  every  class. 
We  are  all  agreed  that  the  saloon  is  an  unqualified 
curse.  It  has  done  evil  and  only  evil  all  the  days  of 
its  life.  It  is  the  enemy  of  man  ;  bloating  his  face, 
reddening  his  eyes,  polluting  the  currents  of  his 
blood,  befogging  his  reason,  paralyzing,  his  will,  and 
sending  him  a  reeling  drunkard  out  into  the  endless 
night.  It  is  the  enemy  of  the  home  ;  putting  out  the 
fire  upon  the  hearth,  emptying  the  barrel  and  cruse, 
changing  the  loving  wife  into  a  shame-faced  thing, 
and  sending  forth  the  children  in  rags  and  tatters  to 
blush  because  a  drunkard  begot  them.  It  is  the 
enemy  of  the  workshop  ;  the  prevailing  distress 
among  the  laborers  of  the  country  being  in  large 
measure  due  to  the  fact  that  they  spend  not  less  than 


144  THE    SUNDAY    SALOON. 

six  hundred  millions  of  dollars  every  year  for  strong 
drink.  It  is  the  enemy  of  the  church  ;  I  can  preach 
to  prisoners  in  the  Tombs,  to  men  sauntering  through 
the  public  squares,  to  the  dying  in  the  lucid  moments 
that  come  during  the  delirium  of  fever,  but  there  is 
one  class  of  people  to  whom  all  preaching  is  love's 
labor  lost,  that  is,  to  such  as  have  put  "  an  enemy  in 
their  mouth  to  steal  away  their  brains."  It  is  an 
enemy  of  God  •  he  has  been  pleased  to  express  him- 
self respecting  it  in  unequivocal  terms,  pronouncing 
this  condemnation  upon  the  dram-seller,  "Cursed  be 
he  that  putteth  the  bottle  to  his  neighbor's  lips  "  ; 
and  this  woe  upon  his  victim,  "  No  drunkard  shall 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God." 

But  a  question  of  still  greater  importance  is  in- 
volved, to-wit,  that  of  our  national  rest-day.  It  is 
not  proposed  to  formally  legislate  against  the  Sab- 
bath. Our  public  functionaries  are  too  wise  to  raise 
the  cry,  "  Down  with  the  Sabbath  !  "  This  was  done 
in  the  time  of  the  French  Revolution  when  the  Lord's 
Day  was  erased  from  the  Calendar,  only  to  be 
restored  after  the  mobs  had  surged  through  the 
streets  and  the  gutters  had  run  with  blood.  One  such 
experiment  will  answer  for  all  time.  In  the  present 
case,  however,  the  attempt  to  subvert  the  Sabbath 
is  by  indirect  means.  In  certain  localities,  where 
the  people  shall  so  express  themselves,  the  dram-shops 
are  to  be  open  after  the  morning  hour  of  divine  service. 
By  the  grace  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  the  Lord 
is  to  be  permitted  to  retain  one-half  of  his  Sabbath, 
while  the  other  shall  be  turned  over  to  the  Prince  of 
Darkness  !  And  observe  this  is  only  when  the  people 
of  any  particular  locality  shall  express  themselves  in 
favor  of  it. 


THE    SUNDAY   SALOON.  1 45 

The  method  is  known  as  "  local  option."  No 
doubt  there  are  matters  of  such  local  importance  as 
that  only  the  communities  having  interests  involved 
should  determine  them.  But  in  questions  touching 
the  great  fundamental  facts  of  our  American  civiliza- 
tion the  voice,  which  shall  ultimately  determine, 
must  ever  be  the  voice  of  the  whole  people.  Ours  is 
a  government  of  the  people,  for  the  people,  by  the 
people.  That  is  to  say,  the  majority  rule.  It  is  ap- 
parent then  that  "local  option"  in  matters  of  na- 
tional moment  is  in  direct  contravention  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  popular  sovereignty.  There  was  a  time 
when  Brigham  Yoimg  and  the  dignitaries  of  the 
Mormon  Church  announced  that  they  proposed  to 
settle  the  question  of  plural  marriage  for  themselves, 
no  matter  what  the  general  government  should  say 
about  it.  But  a  detachment  of  the  American  Army 
went  out  to  the  Wahsatch  mountains  and  put  an  end 
to  "  local  option  "  there.  The  institution  in  question 
was  of  such  general  importance  that  no  single  com- 
munity could  pass  upon  it.  And  there  was  a  time 
later  on  when  a  portion  of  our  country,  lying  south 
of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  in  its  devotion  to  a  pecu- 
liar institution,  determined  to  withdraw  from  the  fel- 
lowship of  the  other  states.  The  entire  force  of  the 
general  government  was  brought  into  requisition  to 
put  down  that  rebellion  ;  and,  when  at  last  the  four 
awful  years  of  our  Civil  War  were  over,  it  was  settled 
that  "local  option,"  m  matters  of  national  interest, 
has  no  weight  as  against  the  voice  of  the  whole  peo- 
ple. There  are  indeed  rights  reserved  by  the  several 
commonwealths  under  the  doctrine  of  "  State  Sover- 
eignty," but  not  of  such  a  character  as  in  any  case  to 
antagonize  the  general  interest.     It  is  now  respect- 


146  THE    SUNDAY    SALOON. 

fully  submitted  that  the  question  of  Sabbath  rest  is 
one  of  such  universal  interest,  involving  the  welfare 
of  all  classes  but  particularly  of  our  workingmen, 
that  it  cannot  safely  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  any 
locality,  and  certainly  not  to  the  judgment  of  our 
great  municipal  centres.  Shall  the  City  of  New 
York,  with  its  eighty  per  cent,  of  foreign  population, 
be  permitted  to  say  whether  our  American  Sabbath 
shall  live  or  die  ?  Shall  a  moral  principle  of  such 
dimensions  be  submitted  to  the  "bloody  Eighth" 
Ward  ?  That  way  lies  danger.  The  people  of  Amer- 
ica alone  have  a  right  in  the  last  reduction  to  deter- 
mine as  to  principles  and  institutions  which  are 
essential  to  the  public  weal. 

I.  We,  therefore,  enter  a  respectful  protest  against 
the  proposed  enactment  z'n  the  name  of  the  American 
people.  The  great  majority  of  the  people  of  this  re- 
public, beyond  all  question,  being  distinctly  Ameri- 
cans, are  loyal  to  the  institution  known  as  the  Ameri- 
can Sabbath.  They  have  never  given  the  slightest 
intimation  to  the  contrary.  They  have,  times  with- 
out number,  expressed  themselves  in  its  favor.  The 
American  Sabbath  is  as  distinctively  one  of  our  na- 
tional institutions  as  universal  suffrage  or  freedom  of 
conscience.  When  DeTocqueville  returned  to  France 
from  his  visit  to  our  country,  on  being  asked  which  of 
our  institutions  seemed  to  him  most  characteristic, 
he  answered  without  hesitation,  "  The  American 
Sabbath  ;  on  that  day  the  hammer  lies  on  the 
anvil,  the  fire  is  banked  in  the  furnace,  the  work- 
man is  resting  in  his  home."  This  is  a  true  witness. 
In  no  other  country  is  the  rest-day  so  generally  ob- 
served; in  no  other  country  is  it  so  made  to  subserve 
the  interests  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.     For 


THE    SUNDAY    SALOON.  I47 

the  sake  of  the  Republic  we  should  be  jealous  in  its 
behalf,  and  our  Legislature  should  be  slow  to  take 
any  action  looking  toward  its  surrender.  Aside  from 
the  fact  that  it  secures  for  our  Republic  the  promised 
blessing  of  Jehovah,  he  has  ever  protected  the  Sab- 
baLh-keeping  nations,  and  visited  with  his  vengeance 
such  as  have  permitted  its  desecration.  It  is  con- 
nected with  the  best  interests  of  our  nation  in  many 
ways. 

II.  An  humble  protest  against  the  proposed  en- 
actment is  made,  also,  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  this 
Coinnio7iwealth  of  New  York.  We  call  it  the  Empire 
State.  It  is  the  most  American  of  all  our  Common- 
wealths. No  other  is  so  justly  proud  of  its  home  life. 
And  the  American  home  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the 
American  Sabbath  ;  the  two  are  inseparably  related. 
The  Sabbath  is,  indeed,  the  only  day  on  which  our 
workingmen  have  an  opportunity  of  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  their  own  households.  They  go  to 
their  shops  in  the  early  morning  and  return  at  even- 
ing so  weary  that  they  are  glad  to  betake  themselves 
to  tired  nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep.  But  on 
the  Sabbath  they  are  in  the  bosom  of  their  families. 
It  is  par  excellence  the  home-day.  The  proposed 
amendment  of  our  Excise  Laws  would  give  us,  as 
opposed  to  this,  the  Continental  Sabbath.  You  may 
see  it  in  almost  any  of  the  cities  of  Europe  where  the 
men  are  accustomed  to  frequent  the  "  spirit  stores  " 
and  the  beer-gardens  on  the  Lord's  Day. 

A  recent  necrological  report  by  Prof.  Roscher  of 
Leipsic  makes  mention  of  this  remarkable  fact,  that 
in  Germany  the  great  majority  of  female  suicides 
occurs  on  Sun  day,  but  of  male  suicides  on  Monday. 
And  the  reason,  as  he  indicates,   is  plain  to  see  ;  on 


148  THE    SUNDAY    SALOON, 

Sunday,  while  the  men  are  away  at  the  gardens 
listening  to  pleasant  music  and  quaffing  their  beer, 
the  women  are  left  at  home  and  given  over  in  their 
abandonment  to  misery  and  despair  ;  on  Monday, 
however,  the  men,  recovering  from  the  debauch  of 
the  previous  day,  "loathe  themselves  and  die."  This 
is  one  of  the  incidents  of  that  Continental  Sabbath 
which  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York  is 
asked  to  introduce  among  us, 

III.  A  protest  is  entered  respectfully,  also,  in  be- 
half of  our  city.  The  liquor  traffic  has  power  enough 
already.  Why  should  we  propose  to  increase  it  ? 
Here  is  the  bitter  source  of  all  our  municipal  trouble. 
When  Lord  Byron  was  enlisted  in  behalf  of  the  free- 
dom of  Greece,  irritated  by  the  hostility  of  England 
to  that  struggling  people,  he  wrote  this  : 

"  The  world  is  a  bundle  of  hay, 

Mankind  are  the  asses  who  pull  ; 
Each  pulls  in  a  different  way, 

And  the  greatest  of  all  is  John  Bull  " 

The  "  pull  "  referred  to  by  the  poet  has  come  to  be  a 
familiar  term  among  us  ;  and  it  has  been  pretty  much 
monopolized  by  the  rumseller.  We  have  grown 
weary  of  his  tyranny.  Why  in  the  name  of  common 
justice  should  our  citizens  consent  to  increase  it  ? 
At  this  moment  we  are  talking  of  the  "  Larger  New 
York."  Let  us  suppose  that  Father  Knickerbocker 
were  to  present  his  suit  to  the  suburban  territory  in 
some  such  way  .as  this  :  "I  pray  you,  let  us  unite  our 
interests  for  better  or  worse,  for  richer  or  for  poorer,  till 
death  shall  part  us.  In  my  own  behalf  let  me  say,  I 
have  nine  thousand  saloons  with  all  their  attractions 
to  ofier — if  drawn  un  in  line  thev  would  make  a  red 


THE    SUNDAY    SALOON.  149 

lighted  street  of  more  than  thirty  miles.  I  have  an 
imposing  array,  also,  of  gambling  halls  and  dens  of 
infamy.  There  is  no  city  in  the  country  which  makes 
so  large  an  exhibition  of  the  social  evil,  and  this  I 
am  now  endeavoring  to  legalize  and  localize.  I  am 
also  doing  my  utmost  to  increase  the  power  of 
the  saloons  by  offering  them  a  more  liberal  tenure  of 
life  and  giving  them  the  privilege  of  carrying  on  their 
traffic  during  the  larger  portion  of  every  Lord's 
day."  It  is  safe  to  say  that  to  such  an  honest  pre- 
sentation of  his  claims  the  answer  would  be,  "De- 
clined with  thanks." 

IV.  An  earnest  and  unhesitating  protest  is,  also, 
entered  hi  behalf  of  the  Church.  It  is  probable  that 
there  never  was  a  more  concerted  movement  among 
the  churches  in  behalf  of  any  public  measure  than 
during  the  recent  campaign.  It  was  like  the  muster- 
ing of  the  tribes  of  Israel  in  response  to  the  blast  of 
the  silver  trumpets  and  the  cry,  "  To  the  help  of  the 
Lord  agamst  the  mighty  !"  We  were  told  that  the 
campaign  was  for  sound  morals,  for  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, for  the  sanctity  of  law  ;  but  if  recent 
signs  are  to  be  trusted,  we  were  fooled.  If  the 
social  evil  is  to  be  made  legitimate  in  certain  quar- 
ters, then  we  were  made  coparceners  in  an  assault 
upon  the  seventh  commandment.  If  the  saloon  is  to 
have  its  privileges  increased,  then  our  influence  was 
subsidized  for  the  overthrow  of  the  sixth  and  eighth 
commandments.  And  if  the  whole  or  a  portion  of 
the  Sabbath  is  to  be  turned  over  to  the  tender  mer- 
cies of  the  dramseller,  then  we  were  used  for  the 
undermining  of  the  fourth  commandment.  We  have 
often  been  called,  "  God's  silly  people  "  ;  and  it  would 
appear  that  we  have,  in  some   measure,  earned  the 


150  THE    SUNDAY    SALOON. 

appellation,  if  indeed  the  event  shall  prove  that  our 
foes  have  made  it  possible  to  consummate  this 
iniquity. 

V.  And  finally  a  protest  is  entered  on  behalf  of  the 
new  administration  of  this  city.  It  is  rumored  that  at  a 
time  during  the  recent  campaign,  when  the  votes  of 
the  so-called  German  Reform  League  were  in  ques- 
tion, one  or  more  of  the  leading  candidates  on  the 
Reform  Ticket  announced  themselves  in  favor  of 
opening  the  saloons  on  the  Sabbath-day,  and  that  the 
votes  of  the  brewers  and  their  friends  were  secured 
in  this  manner  ;  and  that  it  only  remains  now  to  de- 
liver the  goods.  This  rumor  is  not  to  be  believed  for 
a  moment,  because  it  is  incredible  that  men  of  the 
character  referred  to  should  have  so  compromised 
their  manhood  and  their  loyalty  to  their  truest  friends. 
We  take  this  occasion,  therefore,  to  resent  the  impu- 
tation. It  was  for  an  offence  such  as  here  suggested 
that  Charles  II.  was  written  down  as  one  of  the  most 
odious  names  in  history;  for  while  he  subscribed  him- 
self as  a  friend  to  the  solemn  league  and  covenant,  he 
was  in  negotiation  for  the  Scottish  throne  with  the 
Papal  See.  Such  duplicity  as  that  makes  men  infa- 
mous. If  an  intimation  of  the  present  charge  had 
been  made  during  the  campaign,  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  churches  would  have  unanimously  repudiated  the 
movement  in  behalf  of  so-called  reform.  We  shall, 
therefore,  expect  our  magistrates  to  purge  them- 
selves effectively  of  this  libellous  reflection  upon  their 
honor.  Whoever  is  behind  the  present  movement  of 
the  Legislature  in  New  York,  it  certainly  cannot  be 
the  men  whom  we  prayerfully  chose  to  honestly  and 
impartially  administer  our  laws. 


THE    SUNDAY    SALOON.  151 

The  churches  have  the  power  to  prevent  the  con- 
summation of  this  scheme.  A  vast  majority  of  the 
people  of  our  Commonwealth  believe  in  God  and 
morality.  Let  them  make  their  convictions  known 
and  felt  in  time  and  those  who  are  engineering  the 
present  movement  will  be  glad  to  abandon  it.  There 
never  was  a  truer  thing  said  than  this  of  John 
Foster's,  "  Power  to  the  last  atom  is  responsibility." 
If  we  lose  our  Sabbath  in  the  city  of  New  York,  it 
will  be  because  the  people  of  the  churches  are  rec- 
reant to  their  solemn  trust.  Our  magistrates  are  not 
our  masters,  but  our  servants.  Let  us  frankly  tell 
them  so.  They  are  chosen  not  to  make  new  policies 
with  respect  to  great  moral  questions,  but  to  execute 
existing  laws  without  fear  or  favor.  It  devolves  upon 
us  to  see  that  our  influence  shall  not  go  for  naught. 
The  Master  likened  our  influence  to  salt,  adding, 
"  But  if  the  salt  have  lost  his  savor,  wherewith  shall  it 
be  salted  ?  "  In  behalf  of  our  country,  our  Common- 
wealth and  the  church  let  us  stand  for  the  right  as 
we  understand  it.  This  is  our  liberty  ;  the  glorious 
liberty  of  the  children  of  God 


THE  WALDENSES. 

"  The  light  shineth  in  darkness." — John.  i.  5.* 

The  founder  of  the  Italian  Church  was  the  Apostle 
Paul.  As  a  prisoner  in  the  praetorian  camp,  he 
preached  for  two  whole  years  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The  character  of  his  preach- 
ing may  be  determined  from  his  Epistles  which  have 
furnished  the  doctrinal  material  for  the  symbols  of 
all  the  churches  of  the  Reformation.  The  time  came, 
however,  when  Paul  was  led  out  beyond  the  walls 
and  executed,  and  his  believing  hearers  were  driven 
by  persecution  in  all  directions.  Some  of  them  found 
a  refuge  in  the  valley  of  Piedmont,  at  the  foot  of 
the  Maritime  Alps  which  separate  France  from  Italy. 

This  valley  is  only  twice  as  large  as  Manhattan 
Island,  but  it  occupies  a  great  place  on  the  map  of 
the  world.  The  Christians  who  dwelt  here  were 
surrounded  by  picturesque  beauty  on  every  side. 
The  mountains  round  about  them  were  tokens  of  the 
watchcare  of  God.  They  were  secluded  like  Israel 
in  Palestine,  as  in  a  sanctuary.  Here  they  kept  the 
simplicity  of  their  faith.  The  temptations  of  luxury 
and  worldliness  were  unfelt  by  them.  The  strifes 
and  controversies  of  nations  were  nothing  to  them. 


*  On  the  shield  of  the  Waldensian  Church  is  the  golden  candlestick  sur- 
mounted by  seven  stars  with  the  legend,  Lux  lucet  in  tenebris ;  i.  e.,  "The 
light  shineth  in  darkness." 

(152) 


THE    WALDENSES.  1 53 

In  their  seclusion  they  kept  as  a  sacred   inheritance 
the  faith  that  had  once  been  delivered  to  the  saints. 

It  was  not  for  nothing  that  God  had  thus  enclosed 
them  in  a  solitary  place.  They  were  reserved  for 
a  great  purpose.  These  people,  who  at  no  time 
in  their  history  numbered  more  than  thirty  thou- 
sand, have  constituted  from  time  immemorial  a 
missionary  church.  In  the  early  centuries  it  was 
their  custom  to  send  forth  colporteurs  two  by  two  ; 
a  barba  or  presbyter  in  company  with  a  younger  man. 
These  went  in  all  directions  carrying  packs  of  mer- 
chandise and  scattering  the  truth  of  the  Scriptures 
wherever  they  went.  The  traffic  of  these  Vaudois 
peddlers  is  described  in  one  of  Whittier's  poems, 
which,  rendered  into  the  Italian  tongue,  is  cherished 
in  the  Piedmont  Valley  at  this  day.  The  packs  be- 
ing opened  and  the  beautiful  fabrics  and  jewels  dis- 
played, the  peddler  is  represented  as  saying: 

"  O,  lady  fair,  these  silks  of  mine 

Are  beautiful  and  rare — 
The  richest  web  of  the  Indian  loom 

Which  beauty's  self  might  wear. 
And  these  pearls  are  pure  and  mild  to  behold, 

And  with  radiant  light  they  vie  ; 
I  have  brought  them  with  me  a  weary  way: 

Will  my  gentle  lady  buy  ?  " 

The  lady  purchases  and  turns  away.  He  speaks 
and  recalls  her  : 

"  O,  lady  fair,  I  have  yet'a  gem. 

Which  a  purer  lustre  flings 
Than  the  diamond  flash  of  the  jewelled  crown 

On  the  lofty  brow  of  kings  ; 
A  wonderful  pearl  of  exceeding  price. 

Whose  virtues  shall  not  decay  ; 
Whose  light  shall  be  as  a  spell  to  thee, 

And  a  blessing  on  thy  way  !  " 


154  THE    WALDENSES. 

At  this  point,  her  curiosity  excited,   she  bids  him 
produce  his  wonderful  treasure  : 

The  cloud  went  off  from  the  pilgrim's  brow. 

As  a  small  and  meagre  book, 
Unchased  with  gold  or  diamond  gem, 

From  his  folding  robe  he  took  : 
"  Here,  lady  fair,  is  the  pearl  of  price — 

May  it  prove  as  much  to  thee  ! 
Nay,  keep-thy  gold  — I  ask  it  not — 

For  the   Word  of  God  is  free." 

We  are  now  beginning  to  see  what  the  divine  pur- 
pose may  have  been  in  preserving  this  humble  com- 
munity so  jealously  among  the  hills.  To  them  is 
largely  committed  the  work  of  the  evangelization 
of  Italy.  There  are  but  seventeen  pastors  in  the 
Valley  itself,  but  in  the  regions  without  they  have 
forty-three  missionary  pastors,  besides  fifty-five 
evangelists.  There  is  an  almost  continuous  line  of 
missionary  stations  from  Torre  Pellice,  Turin,  Milan, 
Como,  Brescia,  Venice,  Verona,  Naples,  Rome, 
Brindisi  and  other  towns  and  villages  down  to  the 
remotest  end  of  Sicily,  Is  it  not  the  very  irony  of 
history  that  this  people,  persecuted  through  the  cen- 
turies by  the  Papal  Church,  should  now  be  the 
chosen  instrument  of  preaching  Christ  to  Italy?  If 
the  other  branches  of  the  universal  Church  were  as 
eflficient  in  missionary  service,  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
the  conversion  of  the  nations  would  be  near  at 
hand. 

In  the  year  1209  Otho  IV.  of  Germany,  on  his 
way  to  Rome  to  be  consecrated  Emperor  by  Pope 
Innocent  III.,  gave  authority  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Turin  to  exterminate  the  Waldenses.  This  was  the 
beginning  of   long   centuries  of  fire  and    blood.     In 


THE    WALDENSES.  155 

the  heroic  history  of  these  people,  during  this  long 
period  of  persecution,  we  find  the  counterpart  of  one 
of  the  vivid  prophecies  of  the  Apocalypse  (Rev.  xii.). 
A  woman  is  represented  with  a  child  in  her  arms  : 
she  is  clothed  in  the  sun  with  the  moon  under  her 
feet  and  wearing  a  crown  of  twelve  stars.  The  wo- 
man is  the  Church  ;  the  child  is— shall  we  say  the 
Child  Jesus  or  his  pure  gospel  ?  She  is  pursued  by 
the  red  dragon  ;  the  dragon  of  persecution  with 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns  of  power,  drawing  after 
him  one-third  of  the  stars  of  heaven.  To  her  are 
given  the  wings  of  an  eagle  that  she  may  fly  into  the 
wilderness  where  she  is  nourished  for  a  time,  and 
times,  and  half  a  time.  And  the  dragon  was  wroth 
with  the  woman  who  kept  the  commandments  and 
testimony  of  Jesus  Christ. 

We  have  in  America  three  anniversaries  which  we 
cherish  with  the  most  grateful  pride  :  1620  when  the 
land  was  first  trodden  by  the  feet  of  those  who 
sought  freedom  to  worship  God;  1776  when  from 
the  belfry  of  Independence  Hall  rang  out  the  mes- 
sage, "  All  men  are  created  free  and  equal  and  with 
inalienable  rights"  ;  and  1863  when  Lincoln  signed 
the  Emancipation  Proclamation.  The  Waldenses 
also  have  three  anniversaries,  all  of  them  antedating 
ours  and  signalizing  events  of  most  painful  mem- 
ory : 

In  1393  under  the  authority  of  Pope  Gregory  II. 
an  attack  was  made  upon  the  villages  of  the  Wal- 
densian  Valley.  All  efforts  to  convert  this  people 
through  monks  de propaganda  fide  had  been  vain.  The 
bitter  methods  of  inquisitors  sent  de  extirpandis  here- 
ticis  had  been  equally  vain.  Then  came  the  Bull 
of   Extermination.     On   May  22d  of  that  memorable 


156  THE    WALDENSES. 

year  the  churches  were  decorated  as  for  some  great 
festivity,  but  the  people  of  the  Valley  were  silent  and 
in  tears.  Two  hundred  and  thirty  fires  were  kindled 
along  the  highway  ;  two  hundred  and  thirty  of  the 
leading  men  of  the  Valley  were  led  forth  to  be  burn- 
ed at  the  stake.  This  was  followed  by  seizures  and 
confiscations  and  tortures  and  deaths  until,  the  sur- 
vivors having  fled  to  the  mountains,  the  Valley  was 
quite  solitary.  The  soldiers,  however,  were  not  with- 
drawn until  they  were  needed  over  in  France  to  rein- 
force the  strength  of  Joan  of  Arc  who  herself  was 
presently  to  be  burned  at  Rouen.  For  those  were 
burning  days. 

In  1488  there  was  a  new  fulmination  by  Innocent 
VIII.  The  Valley  was  again  invaded  by  armed  men. 
At  the  first  village  they  paused  and  strangled  eigh- 
teen men.  The  Waldenses,  unable  to  resist  an  army 
of  twenty  times  their  number,  again  retreated  to  the 
hills  driving  their  flocks  and  singing  Psalms  as  they 
went  upward.  One-third  of  the  way  up,  six  hundred 
feet  above  the  Valley,  there  is  a  cavern  called  Ailfred 
with  a  shelf  of  rock  above  it.  Here  the  aged  people 
with  the  women  and  children,  who  were  unable  to 
continue  the  flight,  were  placed,  and  provisions  for 
two  years  were  left  with  them.  Cataneo,  the  captain 
of  the  invading  army,  scaled  the  mountain  and  let 
down  men  from  above  with  ropes  ;  these  piled  fagots 
against  the  mouth  of  the  cave  and  setting  fire  to 
them,  smoked  out  the  fugitives  like  mice  and  slaugh- 
tered them.  Three  thousand  perished  that  day,  of 
whom  four  hundred  were  infants.  It  was  a  great 
day's  work  for  the  Vicar  of  God  ! 

In  1 535  a  general  amnesty  was  proclaimed  by  Fran- 
cis I.  on  condition    of   abjuration  within  six   months. 


THE    WALDENSES.  157 

Not  one  of  the  Waldenses  abjured  his  faith.  They 
were  required  to  attend  mass  or  die  ;  instead,  they 
retreated  to  the  hills.  As  the  men-at-arms  on  their 
pursuit  were  passing  Pra-del-Tor  a  shower  of  stones 
was  rained  upon  them  from  above  with  fatal  effect 
and  for  that  a  bloody  vengeance  was  exacted. 
The  inquisition  was  set  up.  There  were  tortures  un- 
speakable ;  such  as  could  be  seized  were  flayed, 
burned,  shredded  with  iron  whips,  hurled  from  the 
rocks.  At  Montalto  there  were  eighty-eight  pris- 
oners who  filed  through  the  door  one  by  one  with 
linen  bandages  over  their  eyes.  As  they  came  forth 
their  throats  were  cut  until  eighty-eight  bleeding 
trunks  lay  there  in  line.  Eighty-six  were  flayed 
alive;  the  bodies  of  some  were  cleft  in  twain  and  im- 
paled on  pikes  along  the  high-road.  No  less  than 
sixteen   hundred   suffered  death  in   this  persecution. 

The  heroism  of  this  people  and  the  value  of  their 
magnificent  struggle  for  freedom,  may  be  learned 
from  a  comparison  with  persecutions  among  the 
greater  nations  ;  in  the  time  of  bloody  Mary  there 
were  two  hundred  and  seventy-seven  only  who  suf- 
fered for  the  faith.  Here  in  the  valley  of  Piedmont 
there  were  many  who  had  their  eyes  and  tongues 
torn  out,  their  entrails  dragged  forth  ;  they  were  cut 
with  sabres  and  their  wounds  were  salved  with 
quicklime  ;  their  mouths  were  filled  with  powder, 
which  was  lighted  ;  their  nails  were  torn  off.  Does 
the  recital  sicken  us  ?  What  of  the  reality  ?  And 
the  men  who  wrought  these  things  were  greeted  with 
Te  Deums  on  their  return  to  Rome  ! 

At  length  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  Louis  XIV 
requiring  the  people  to  abjure  their  religion  or  go 
forth  from  the  valley.     They  fled    to  the   mountains 


158  THE    WALDENSES. 

again  and  kindled  the  bivouac  fires.  Popery  was 
triumphant  at  last.  A  band  of  eighty  men  crept  out 
from  their  hiding  and  fought  like  lions.  They  were 
defeated.  Their  lives  were  spared  on  condition  that 
they  should  go.  Wearied  by  centuries  of  harrying, 
the  people  consented  to  leave  their  homes.  It  was 
mid-winter  when  they  crossed  the  Alps,  in  all  two 
thousand  six  hundred  and  fifty-six  souls.  Many  of 
them  died  on  the  way.  The  survivors  found  an  hos- 
pitable welcome  and  shelter  at  Geneva  and  the  sur- 
rounding country,  and  here  they  remained  for  the 
brief  period  of  four  years.  But  they  were  moun- 
taineers and  homesick  all  the  time.  Then  a  leader 
arose  among  them,  Henri  Arnaud— "one  of  the  few 
immortal  names  which  were  not  born  to  die."  He 
collected  a  troop  of  eight  hundred  who  met  secretly 
in  the  forest  and  by  the  lake  shore.  One  August  day, 
they  set  out  upon  the  homeward  march.  They  passed 
the  upper  lines  of  the  enemy  to  the  bridge  of  Dora 
where,  after  desperate  fighting,  they  pushed  their 
way  through.  On  they  went,  chanting  the  seventy- 
fourth  Psalm,  and  after  incidental  struggles  re- 
sumed possession  of  their  former  homes. 

It  was  during  the  latter  days  of  these  weary  persecu- 
tions that  Oliver  Cromwell  wrote  a  pathetic  protest  to 
his  majesty  the  king  of  France  which  was  delivered  by 
the  hand  of  Sir  Samuel  Morland  and  ran  in  part  as 
follows  :  "  May  it  please  your  Most  Serene  and  Royal 
Highness,  I  am  sent  by  Prince  Oliver,  Lord  Protector 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  unto  your  royal 
highness,  whom  he  heartily  saluteth,  wishing  you 
life,  a  long  reign,  and  prosperous  success  in  all  your 
affairs.  As  for  myself,  though  I  be  a  young  men,  I 
confess,  and  have  not  much  experience,  yet  it  pleased 


THE    WALDENSES.  159 

my  most  serene  and  gracious  master  to  send  me, 
being  one  that  is  much  devoted  to  your  royal  high- 
ness, and  a  great  lover  of  all  of  the  people  of  Italy, 
to  negotiate  matters  of  great  importance,  for  so  those 
affairs  are  to  be  called,  wherein  the  safety  of  many 
poor,  distressed  people,  and  all  their  hope,  is  com- 
prehended, which  indeed  consisteth  wholly  in 
this,  if  so  be  that  by  all  their  loyalty,  obedience, 
and  most  humble  petitions,  they  may  be  able  to 
mollify  and  appease  the  mind  of  your  royal  high- 
ness, which  hath  been  provoked  against  them.  In 
behalf  of  these  poor  people  whose  cause  even 
commiseration  itself  may  seem  to  make  the  more 
excusable,  the  most  serene  Protector  of  England  is 
also  become  an  intercessor ;  and  he  most  earnestly 
entreateth  and  beseecheth  your  royal  highness,  that 
you  would  be  pleased  to  extend  your  mercy  to  these 
your  very  poor  subjects,  and  most  disconsolate  out- 
casts ;  I  mean  those,  who  inhabiting  beneath  the  Alps, 
and  certain  valleys  under  your  dominion,  are  profes- 
sors of  the  Protestant  religion.  For  he  hath  been 
informed,  that  part  of  these  most  miserable  people 
have  been  cruelly  massacred,  part  driven  by  violence, 
and  forced  to  leave  their  native  habitations  ;  and  so, 
without  house  or  shelter,  poor  and  destitute  of  all 
relief,  do  wander  up  and  down,  with  their  wives  and 
children,  in  craggy  and  uninhabited  places,  and 
mountains  covered  with  snow.  Oh  !  the  smoking 
homes,  the  torn  limbs,  the  ground  defiled  with  blood! 
Some  decrepit  with  age  and  sickness,  have  been 
burnt  in  their  beds.  Some  infants  have  been  dashed 
against  the  rocks,  others  have  had  their  throats  cut, 
whose  brains  have,  with  more  than  Cyclopean  cruelty, 
been  boiled  and  eaten  by  the  murderers  !     What  need 


l6o  THE    WALDENSES. 

I  mention  more,  although  I  could  reckon  up  very 
many  cruelties  of  the  same  kind,  if  I  were  not  aston- 
ished at  the  very  thought  of  them.  If  all  the  tyrants 
of  all  times  and  ages  were  alive  again,  (which  I  would 
speak  without  any  offence  to  your  highness,  seeing 
we  believe  none  of  these  things  were  done  through 
any  default  of  yours,)  certainly  they  would  be 
ashamed  when  they  should  find  that  they  had  con- 
trived nothing,  in  comparison  with  these  things,  that 
might  be  reputed  sufficiently  barbarous  and  inhu- 
man. In  the  meantime,  the  angels  are  surprised  with 
horror ;  men  are  amazed  ;  heaven  itself  seemeth 
to  be  astonished  with  the  cries  of  dying  men  ;  and 
the  very  earth  to  blush,  being  discolored  with  the 
gore  blood  of  so  many  innocent  persons  !  Do  not 
thou,  O  thou  most  high  God,  do  not  thou  take  that 
revenge,  which  is  due  to  so  great  wickedness,  and 
horrible  villanies  !  Let  thy  blood,  O  Christ,  wash 
away  this  blood  !  " 

It  was  at  this  period,  also,  that  John  Milton,  who 
was  the  secretary  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  wrote  those 
famous  lines  : 

"  Avenge,  O  Lord,  thy  slaughtered  saints,  whose  bones 
Lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold  ; 
E'en  them,  who  kept  thy  truth  so  pure  of  old, 
When  all  our  fathers  worshipped  stocks  and  stones, 
Forget  not  :  in  thy  book  record  their  groans, 
Who  were  thy  sheep,  and  in  their  ancient  fold 
Slain  by  the  bloody  Piedmontese,  that  roll'd 
Mother  with  infant  down  the  rocks.     Their  moans 
The  vales  redoubled  to  the  hills,  and  they 
To  heaven.     Their  martyred  blood  and  ashes  sow 
O'er  all  the  Italian  fields,  where  still  doth  sway 
The  triple  tyrant  ;  that  from  these  may  grow 
An  hundred-fold,  who  having  learnt  thy  way, 
Early  may  fly  the  Babylonian  woe  !  " 


THE    WALDENSES.  l6l 

Was  it  worth  the  price  ?  Are  there  adequate  re- 
sults to  show  for  all  this  outlay  of  life?  And  what 
have  we  inherited  from  these  lamentable  years  of 
persecution  ? 

First,  a  lesson  as  to  the  sanctity  of  truth.  In 
these  days  of  shallow  convictions  it  is  well  for  us  to 
recall  the  memory  of  those  heroic  men  who  believed 
that  truth  was  of  more  value  than  comfort,  posses- 
sions, or  life  itself.  The  Waldenses  believed  in  God. 
They  believed  in  the  Bible  as  the  veritable  word  of 
God.  They  believed  that  doctrine  of  Justification  by 
Faith  which  the  great  father  of  the  Reformation  was 
pleased  to  call,  "  The  doctrine  of  a  standing  or  a 
falling  church."  "  Stand  for  the  truth "  was  their 
motto;  nor  could  a  better  be  found  for  believers  then 
or  now.  Stand  for  the  truth,  for  it  cannot  be  valued 
with  the  gold  of  Ophir.  Stand  for  your  convictions 
with  life,  fortune  and  sacred  honor. 

Second,  a  lesson  in  toleration.  We  sit  comfort- 
able under  our  vines  and  fig-trees  in  these  piping 
times  of  peace  and  prate  of  toleration  as  if  it  involved 
a  surrender  of  truth.  "  I  have  my  opinions  and  you 
have  yours  ;  but  they  are  not  worth  quarreling  about. 
Let  us  surrender  them  in  the  interest  of  peace."  But 
this  is  not  toleration  ;  it  is  a  cowardly  subterfuge. 
The  rationale  of  true  religious  freedom  runs  on  this 
wise:  "You  have  your  opinions,  and  I  have  mine. 
On  either  side  they  are  deeply  grounded  in  heart  and 
conscience.  Let  us  both  alike  cherish  our  convic- 
tions and  yet  keep  the  peace ;  each  recognizing  that 
the  other  has  equally  with  himself  a  right  to  his  own 
belief  and  his  own  fashion  of  worshipping  God." 
This  is  broad  and  generous  "  liberalism  "  ;  it  involves 
no  sacrifice  of  true  manhood  or  devotion  to  principle. 


l62  THE    WALDENSES. 

This  was  the  sort  of  freedom  for  which  the  Wal- 
denses  ever  contended.  They  were  at  no  period 
disposed  to  interfere  with  the  ecclesiastical  rights  of 
those  who  differed  with  them  ;  all  that  they  claimed 
— and  for  this  they  were  willing  to  pledge  their  lives — 
was  the  liberty  of  believing  and  worshipping  in  their 
own  way. 

Third,  a  lesson  as  to  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Church.  The  Very  existence  of  the  Waldenses  is 
among  the  greatest  miracles  of  history.  The  sword 
could  not  destroy  them  ;  the  fire  could  not  consume 
them.  The  prophecy  of  Christ  respecting  his  Church 
was  fulfilled  in  them  ;  "  The  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it." 

Fourth  and  finally,  a  lesson  as  to  the  inestima- 
ble value  of  our  religion.  It  has  been  purchased  for 
us  with  a  great  price.  The  blood  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  himself  has  been  touched  by  tributary  streams 
of  martyr  blood  all  through  the  ages.  A  noble 
army  of  witnesses  passes  before  us  :  Huss  and 
Latimer  and  Savonarola,  the  Vaudois,  the  Hugue- 
nots, the  Covenanters,  the  Puritans,  old  men  and 
women  and  children,  their  garments  all  aflame  and 
blood  streaming  down  their  faces.  These  men 
labored  and  we  have  entered  into  their  labors.  They 
suffered,  and  we  inherit  the  benefit.  As  they  pass  by 
on  their  way  toward  the  heaven  above,  they  certify 
to  us  with  a  yea  and  amen  beyond  all  eloquence  of 
spoken  words,  that  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Sav- 
iour Jesus  Christ  is  true,  gloriously  true,  forever 
true  !  It  gives  us  a  religion  to  live  by  and  to  die 
by.  God  help  us  to  be  faithful  in  defending  and  in 
living  it. 


^'BUT    GROW." 

"  But  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ."— II.  Peter  iii,  i8. 

There  are  three  chapters  in  the  •'  Ascent  of  Man," 
and  after  that  an  eternal  sequel.  The  three  chapters 
are  sin,  regeneration  and  life  ;  the  eternal  sequel  is 
growth  unto  a  perfect  man. 

(i)  Sin  is  death,  that  is,  it  is  a  malady  whose  sure 
outcome  is  spiritual  and  eternal  death.  "  The  soul 
that  sinneth  it  shall  die,"  not  because  God  said  so— 
for  this  is  merely  a  forensic  sanction  put  upon  an  in- 
evitable law— but  because  death  as  the  consequence 
of  sin  is  interwoven  with  the  fibers  of  the  human  con- 
stitution. Sin  when  it  is  finished  bringeth  forth  death. 
It  need  scarcely  be  said,  however,  that  death  does  not 
mean  annihilation.  Death  never  means  annihilation. 
A  tree  is  said  to  be  dead,  not  because  it  has  ceased  to 
exist,  but  because  it  no  longer  exercises  its  normal 
functions,  being  merely  a  leafless  trunk  cumbering 
the  earth.  A  man  is  said  to  be  dead,  not  because  he 
has  ceased  to  be,  but  because  having  ears  he  hears 
not  and  having  eyes  he  sees  not.  In  like  manner  a 
soul  is  said  to  be  dead  in  consequence  of  this  moral 
malady— because  the  will  and  heart  and  conscience 
no  longer  do  their  proper  work,  have  no  practical 
grasp  of  invisible  and  eternal  verities,  make  no  re- 
sponse to  the  appeal  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

(163) 


164  "  BUT    GROW." 

(2)  Regeneration  marks  the  important  crisis  in 
the  history  of  a  soul.  It  is  the  arrest  and  reversal 
of  the  process  of  disease  and  dissolution.  In  the 
operation  of  physical  disease  there  is  a  time  when  a 
fever  comes  to  a  hand-to-hand  conflict  with  all  the 
restorative  forces.  The  "crisis"  has  come.  The 
physician  stands  at  the  bedside,  noting  all  the 
symptoms,  feeling  the  fluttering  pulse,  saying  at 
length,  "  There  "is  no  hope  "  ;  or  else  "  There  is  a 
change  for  the  better."  Regeneration  is  this  change 
for  the  better  in  the  spiritual  province.  It  occurs 
when  a  man,  fixing  his  eyes  upon  the  atoning  death 
of  Jesus,  receives  its  power  into  his  life, — this  be- 
ing the  only  specific  for  sin.  This  acceptance  of 
Christ  marks  the  favorable  passing  of  the  crisis,  for 
at  that  instant  the  work  of  regeneration  is  wrought 
by  the  Spirit  and  the  soul  enters  into  newness 
of  life. 

(3)  Life  is  the  unspeakable  gift.  The  Saviour 
said,  "  I  am  come  that  ye  might  have  life  and  that  ye 
might  have  it  more  abundantly  " — life,  in  ever  in- 
creasing power.  This  life  means  not  merely  the 
arrest  of  spiritual  disease  and  dissolution,  but  the 
quickening  of  all  the  energies  of  the  soul.  Old 
things  are  passed  away,  behold  all  things  are  become 
new — new  hopes,  new  purposes,  new  aspirations. 
The  man  is  turned  right  about.  He  was  facing  to- 
ward the  eternal  darkness  ;  now  he  looks  with  eager 
eyes  toward  truth  and  goodness,  and  strives  with  a 
constantly  increasing  desire  to  return  to  his  first 
estate  in  the  likeness  of  God. 

This  is  the  beginning.  Then  growth,  the  eternal 
sequel.  The  objective  point  is  character,  which  is 
another  name  for  Christlikeness.     But  observe  that 


(( 


BUT    GROW."  165 


there  is  no  possibility  of  grovnh  except  to  such  as 
have  entered  into  life.  Life  is  the  prerequisite.  I  may 
thrust  a  dry  stick  into  the  ground  and  foster  it  with 
all  possible  care,  giving  it  access  to  the  sunlight 
and  the  dews  of  the  morning,  but  I  shall  never  have 
anything  but  a  dry  stick  ;  no  growth,  no  foliage,  no 
fruit,  because  there  was  no  life.  So  is  the  case  with 
many  a  brave  struggler,  who,  by  the  frequent  making 
of  good  resolutions,  strives  in  vain  to  attain  unto  the 
virtues  of  perfect  manhood.  Let  him  begin  at  the 
beginning  by  accepting  Christ,  so  entering  into  life. 
When  once  he  begins  to  live,  he  must  needs  begin  to 
grow.  This  is  the  word  of  promise  :  "  I  am  the  vine, 
ye  are  the  branches  ;  abide  in  me  and  I  in  you,  so 
shall  ye  bear  much  fruit ;  for  without  me  ye  can  do 
nothing." 

This  growing  is  the  business  of  the  Christian  life. 
The  man  of  our  text  knew  whereof  he  spoke  when  he 
urged  this  growth  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of 
Christ.  He  had  been  a  diamond  in  the  rough  ;  a 
fisherman  wont  to  emphasize  with  an  oath  his  com- 
mands amid  the  storms  of  Gennesaret  ;  blunt,  head- 
strong, with  much  to  overcome  and  much  to  learn. 
But  as  the  years  passed,  he  became  under  the  nurture 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  a  different  man.  The  thought  of 
moral  culture  had  taken  possession  of  him  and  found 
a  splendid  realization  in  his  own  character.  It  was 
meet,  therefore,  that  he  should  dwell  upon  its  impor- 
tance ;  as  he  does  not  only  here  but  often  elsewhere. 
For  example  he  says  :  "Add  to  your  faith  virtue,  and 
to  virtue  knowledge  ;  and  to  knowledge  temperance  ; 
and  to  temperance  patience  ;  and  to  patience  godli- 
ness ;  and  to  godliness  brotherly  kindness  ;  and  to 
brotherly  kindness  charity.     For  if  these  things  be  in 


[66  "but  grow. 


>« 


you  and  abound,  they  make  you  that  ye  shall  neither 
be  barren  nor  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

The  figure  in  Peter's  mind  is  that  of  infancy  ad- 
vancing to  the  full  stature  of  a  man.  The  gods  of 
the  ancients  were  born  full  grown.  Minerva  is  said 
to  have  sprung  all  armed  and  panoplied  from  the 
forehead  of  Jove.-  But  Christians  begin  as  babes  in 
Christ  and  advance  through  certain  conditions  of 
normal  growth  to  the  "  measure  of  the  stature  of  the 
fulness  of  Christ." 

How  ?  Here  is  the  important  matter  in  hand. 
How  do  Christians  grow  to  the  fulness  of  character  ? 
How  do  other  infants  grow  ?  We  shall  find  a  perfect 
analogy  at  this  point.  The  same  conditions  hold  in 
the  spiritual  as  in  the  physical  province  with  respect 
to  the  making  of  a  man. 

I.  The  first  thing  necessary  is  food.  The  saints' 
pabulum  is  the  Word  of  God.  Herein  is  both  milk 
for  babes  and  meat  for  men. 

Christ  is  the  Word;  the  Incarnate  Word.  We  grow 
just  in  the  measure  in  which  we  partake  of  him.  It 
is  not  enough  that  we  should  gaze  upon  his  portrait 
as  an  objective  thing,  regarding  him  as  chief  est  among 
ten  thousand  and  altogether  lovely  ;  but  we  must  so 
apprehend  him  as  to  blend  his  very  life  with  ours. 
This  is  the  meaning  of  the  Sacrament  which  is  indeed 
memorial  of  the  great  tragedy  by  which  we  entered 
into  life.  But  more  than  that,  it  is  the  type  and  symbol 
of  the  mystical  union  with  him,  as  it  is  written  :  "  Ex- 
cept ye  eat  the  flesh  and  drink  the  blood  of  the  Son 
of  Man,  ye  have  no  life  in  you."  We  must  so  appre- 
hend him  as  to  be  able  to  say,  "My  Lord,  my  Sav- 
iour, my  gracious  Intercessor."     We  must  so  eat  of 


"  BUT    GROW."  167 

his  flesh  and  drink  of  his  blood,  as  that  his  will  shall 
become  our  will,  his  purposes  our  purposes,  his  nod 
and  beck  our  only  law.  We  must  so  interchange  our 
very  being  with  his,  that  we  shall  be  able  to  declare 
**I  no  longer  live,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me." 

The  Bible,  also,  is  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  the  com- 
plement of  the  Incarnate  Word  in  such  a  manner  as 
that  these  two,  taken  together,  constitute  the  complete 
revelation  of  God.  The  prayer  of  the  Master  in  our 
behalf  was,  "  Sanctify  them  by  thy  truth,  thy  word 
is  truth."  We  fall  short  of  our  privilege  and  dwarf 
our  stature,  when  we  satisfy  ourselves  with  a  merely 
critical  and  objective  study  of  the  Scriptures.  Men 
do  not  sit  down  at  the  king's  table  to  analyze  the  food 
set  before  them,  but  to  eat  it.  So  let  us  approach  the 
Scriptures,  not  for  purposes  of  critical  dissection,  but 
to  partake  of  all  their  glorious  truths  to  the  building 
up  of  our  spiritual  strength  and  the  perfecting  of  our 
character.  To  those  who  are  hungry  for  moral  sus- 
tenance its  songs  are  sweet  morsels,  its  promises  are 
as  honey  dropping  from  the  rock,  its  precepts  and 
doctrines  are  milk  and  meat  for  the  making  of  bone 
and  sinew.  Bible  Christians  are  strong  Christians. 
They  sit  at  a  loaded  table  ;  all  the  things  spread  be- 
fore them  are  for  the  satisfying  of  their  hunger  and 
the  building  up  of  their  strength,  as  it  is  written  : 
"All  Scripture  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof, 
for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness  :  that 
the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished 
unto  all  good  works." 

II.  Work,  also,  is  necessary  for  growth.  Food 
makes  muscle,  but  work  hardens  it.  For  want  of 
this  our  children  become  puny  and  nerveless.  Why 
is  it  that  the  decimated  ranks  of   commerce  in   our 


i68  "but  grow." 

metropolitan  cities  are  supplied  from  the  country  ? 
It  is  because  the  farmer's  boy  rises  at  day-break  to 
feed  the  stock,  while  the  city  boy  lies  abed  until  the 
maid  calls  him.  We  languish,  also,  in  the  Church  by 
reason  of  the  fact  that  our  new  converts  do  not 
always  find  enough  to  do. 

We  are  told  in  the  Arabian  Nights  of  a  certain 
pasha  who  was  overcome  by  languor  and  indisposition. 
He  sent  for  the  court  physician,  who  prescribed  for 
him  on  this  wise  :  he  called  for  a  wooden  sphere 
which  he  filled  with  certain  drugs  ;  then  for  a  hollow 
rod  in  which  he  placed  a  decoction  of  magical  herbs  ; 
then  the  rod  was  fastened  into  the  sphere  and  the 
physician  said,  "  Take  this,  O  Pasha  !  go  out  into  the 
garden  and  beat  upon  the  earth  with  it,  until  the 
medicine  within  shall  exude  in  perspiration  and  creep 
into  thy  flesh  and  blood."  The  narrator  adds  that 
the  patient  was  perfectly  restored.  A  similar  pre 
scription  would  not  be  amiss  in  our  churches. 
And  indeed  there  is  no  lack  of  exercise  in  the 
economy  of  God. 

Self-conquest  is  demanded  of  us.  And  this  means 
severe  effort.  "  There  is  a  war  in  our  members," 
says  Paul, — the  lower  nature  contending  with  the 
higher  for  the  mastery ;  the  old  Adam  struggling 
with  the  new  Adam  ;  the  passions  and  appetites  of 
the  natural  man  face  to  face  and  eye  to  eye  with  the 
new  hopes  and  ambitions.  "  Hard  pounding,  gentle- 
men," said  Wellington  to  his  aides  at  Waterloo. 
Hard  pounding,  indeed,  if  in  this  spiritual  conflict  I 
keep  my  body  under  :  "  For  we  wrestle  not  against 
flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities,  against 
powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this 
world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places." 


"but  grow."  169 

Cross-bearing  also  calls  for  strenuous  effort.  And 
by  cross-bearing  we  do  not  mean  chastisement ;  we 
shall  come  to  that  later  on.  Cross-bearing  is  doing 
for  others.  The  cross  is  the  pre-eminent  symbol  of 
altruism.  The  cross  of  Jesus  represents  a  voluntary 
work  which  he  took  up  in  behalf  of  suffering  men. 
The  cross  of  the  Christian  is  participation  with  Christ 
in  the  great  propaganda,  in  his  effort  to  build  up  the 
kingdom  of  truth  and  righteousness  on  earth  and  so 
to  deliver  the  race  from  sin.  It  was  with  this  intent 
that  our  Lord  said,  "  If  any  man  will  come  after  me, 
let  him  deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me." 
The  work  of  the  universal  Church  is  cross-bearing. 
To  do  good  at  the  sacrifice  of  personal  preference  and 
convenience.  To  do  good  as  fishers  of  men.  Oh  ! 
the  blessedness  of  this  service  ;  to  grow  weary  in  toil 
beside  the  Son  of  God. 

"  One  more  day's  work  for  Jesus, 
How  sweet  the  work  has  been  ; 

To  tell  the  story, 

To  show  the  glory, 
Where  Christ's  flock  enter  in. 

Lord,  if  I  may, 

I'll  toil  another  day." 

III.  Recreation,  also,  is  necessary  to  spiritual 
growth.  It  is  a  proverb  in  common  life,  "All  work 
and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy."  The  same  is 
true  with  respect  to  spiritual  life. 

The  closet  is  our  play-room.  Here  it  is  that  we 
refresh  ourselves  when  wearied  by  sterner  tasks. 
There  is  danger  of  excess  in  such  recreation,  as  among 
those  recluses  who  exhaust  their  time  in  counting 
their  rosaries  and  contemplating  their  breviaries;  but 
as  a  rule  in  these  practical  days   there  is  much  more 


170  **  BUT    GROW." 

danger  of  stinting  our  closet  hours.  We  thus  lose 
the  great  blessing  which  the  Scotch  woman  found  in 
"just  sittin'  alone  wi'  Jesus  an'  clackin'  wi'  him." 

The  public  service  of  the  sanctuary  is  our  play- 
ground. Indeed  I  am  not  sure  that  the  word  "  ser- 
vice" in  this  connection  is  not  a  misnomer.  The  church 
bell  calls  us,  not  to  service,  but  to  the  pleasures  of 
communion  with  each  other  and  with  God.  This  is 
not  duty  but  recreation.  Here  are  the  pleasures 
of  friendship  and  fellowship.  We  sit  together  in 
heavenly  places  with  Christ. 

"  How  pleased  and  blest  was  I, 
To  hear  the  people  cry  : 
Come  let  us  worship  God  to-day. 
Yes,  with  a  cheerful  zeal, 
We'll  haste  to  Zion's  hill 
And  there  our  vows  and  honors  pay." 

IV.  On6  thing  more  is  necessary  to  our  growth, 
namely,  medicine.  It  is  a  fortunate  child  that  never 
needs  it.  In  most  cases  the  system  at  times  runs 
down  or  disease  invades;  the  physician  is  called  in; 
then  the  bitter  draft  and  the  wry  face.  We  are  ask- 
ing in  these  days,  "  Does  God  send  trouble  ? "  No 
and  yes.     There  are  two  kinds  of  trouble  : 

(i)  Trouble  which  comes  in  immediate  conse- 
quence of  sin.  The  largest  portion  of  our  suffering 
is  from  the  devil.  Shame  and  self-contempt,  dis- 
eases that  come  from  bad  drainage  and  neglect  and 
disobedience  to  natural  laws,  political  corruption, 
dyspepsia,  the  sorrow  of  scapegrace  children,  these 
are  not  from  God.  These  are  the  sequelae  of  sin.  We 
are  not  warranted,  on  that  account,  in  saying  that 
God  has  nothing  to  do  with  them.  He  overrules 
them  for  the  good   of  his  children^  as  it  is  written: 


"but  grow,"  171 

"  All  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God."  He  is  stronger  in  this  matter  than  the  adver- 
sary of  our  souls.  It  was  Paul's  repeated  prayer  that 
he  might  be  delivered  from  his  thorn  in  the  flesh  ; 
the  answer  came,  not  in  the  drawing  of  the  thorn, 
but  in  the  rich  promise,  *'  My  grace  is  sufficient  for 
thee." 

(2)  There  are  many  troubles,  however,  which 
must  be  regarded  a's  paternal  chastisements.  You 
would  not  allow  your  little  child  to  play  with  a  razor; 
you  would  take  it  away,  so  does  God.  There  are 
pleasures  and  earthly  possessions  which,  as  we  know 
very  well,  are  like  edged  tools  in  our  hands.  There 
comes  a  time  when  God  finds  it  necessary  to 
take  them  away.  We  sob  and  weep  and  cry  out 
against  it,  but  our  Father  knows  best.  We  are  his 
children  and  He  is  treating  us  as  such.  "  Behind  a 
frowning  providence.  He  hides  a  smiling  face."  "  No 
affliction  for  the  present  seemeth  to  be  joyous,  but 
grievous:  nevertheless  afterward  it  yieldeth  the  peace- 
able fruit  of  righteousness  unto  them  which  are  ex- 
ercised thereby."  Such  chastisements  are  for  our 
spiritual  and  eternal  good  ;  by  them  we  are  strength- 
ened and  built  up  in  the  most  holy  faith. 

A  few  remarks  now  by  way  of  more  practical  ap- 
plication. First :  Our  growth,  or,  as  it  is  technically 
called,  sanctification,  is  distinctly  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy, 
peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  faith. 
We  shall  make  no  mistake  if  we  put  ourselves  trust- 
ingly in  his  care.  To  resist  is  to  grieve  him.  Grieve 
not  the  Spirit  of  God.  Second :  Our  growth  is  likely 
to  be  gradual.  There  are  some  of  the  lower  orders 
of  plants,  consisting  merely  of  cellular  tissue,  which 


172  "but  grow," 

reach  their  full  maturity  in  short  time.  A  mushroom 
has  been  known  to  grow  in  a  single  night  from  a 
mere  atom  to  a  plant  six  inches  in  diameter — but  it 
was  only  a  mushroom  after  all  It  is  said  that  God's 
people  shall  grow  "like  the  cedars  of  Lebanon." 
The  cedar  takes  hold  with  its  roots  upon  the  cliff,  re- 
sists the  winds  and  tempests,  fills  the  air  with  its 
balsamic  odors,  grows  on  for  a  thousand  years, 
gnarled  and  twisted,  but  the  gi^nt  of  the  forest.  So 
is  Christian  growth  ;  here  a  little,  there  a  little  ;  but 
ever  more  and  more  toward  the  strength  and  fulness 
of  noble  character.  Third :  Then  the  glorious  con- 
summation, a  man  !  A  man  of  full  stature  ;  a  man 
restored  to  the  image  of  God.  O,  this  is  worth  all 
the  pains  of  earnest  growth.  When  Kepler  discov- 
ered the  law  of  planetary  distances,  hd  exclaimed, 
"  O  God  !  I  thank  thee  that  I  am  permitted  to  think 
thy  thoughts  after  thee."  This  is  the  glory  of  man- 
hood ;  the  sublime  possibility  before  us  ;  to  share 
God's  thoughts  with  him,  to  enter  into  the  fellow- 
ship of  his  holy  purposes,  to  participate  in  his  work 
and  ultimately  to  sit  together  with  him  in  his  throne. 
Let  this  be  our  prayer  :  "That  we  may  come  unto 
a  perfect  man  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the 
fulness  of  Christ  "  ;  that  we  may  hear  him  say  at 
last,  as  of  his  only  begotten  and  well-beloved  One, 
"Thou,  also,  art  my  son'  ;  partaker  of  the  divine 
nature  by  kinship  with  the  First-born  who  is  Elder 
Brother  of  all. 


THE   GLEANING   OF  THE   GRAPES  OF 

EPHRAIM. 

"Is  not  the  gleaning  of  the  grapes  of   Ephrai  a  better  than  the  vintage  of 
Abi-ezer?    — Judges  viii.  2. 

It  was   the  day  after  the  battle,  and  a  glorious 
battle  it  had  been.     The  three  hundred  of  Abi-ezer 
had  won  a  glorious  victory  over  the  Midianites,  who 
were   as  grasshoppers    for   multitude.      At  dead    of 
night,  provided  with  lamps,  pitchers  and   trumpets, 
they  went  down  the  mountain  side  into  the  hostile 
camp,  where  each   in  silence  took  the  place  assigned 
to  him.     At  a  given  signal  the  lamps  were  broken, 
the  lights  flashed  forth,  the  trumpets  blared   and  the 
cry    rang    out     "The    sword    of    the    Lord    and    of 
Gideon  !  "     The  sleepers  in  their  tents  awoke,  sprang 
from    their    couches,    bewildered,    terrified    by   the 
clangor  and  the  flashing  lights  and  fled  every  man 
for  his  life.     The  three  hundred  were  in  hot  pursuit, 
their  purpose  being  to  intercept  the  fugitives  at  the 
ford   of  Jordan.     Heralds  were  sent  over  to    Mount 
Ephraim  to  say,  "  Go  down   and  hold  the  waters  of 
Beth-barah."     The  men  of  Ephraim  hastened  to  the 
ford  and   that  night    there   was    a   great   slaughter. 
When  the  day  broke,  the  roads  were  strewn  with  the 
dead  as  far  as  the  old  camp  at  Jezreel.     The  waters 
at  Beth-barah  were  red  with  blood.     Oreb  and  Zeeb, 
the  princes  of  the  Midianites,  had  been  slain.     It  was 

(173) 


174        THE  GLEANING   OF  THE  GRAPES  OF  EPHRAIM. 

a  time  for  rejoicing,  a  time  to  sing  "  Who  is  like  unto 
our  God  ;  glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in  praises, 
doing  wonders  ?  "  But  there  was  a  fly  in  the  ointment. 
The  men  of  Ephraim  were  always  captious  and  over- 
bearing. "Why  hast  thou  dealt  with  us  so?"  they 
demanded  of  Gideon.  "  Why  were  we  not  called 
when  thou  wentest  out  to  battle  ?  "  And  they  chid 
him  sharply.  He  might  have  told  them  they  were 
cowards,  brave  enough  to  chase  a  flying  foe  but  not 
to  be  trusted  in  the  high  places  of  the  field.  He 
might  have  told  them  that  they  were  proud,  envious 
and  insubordinate.  But  he  knew  that  a  soft  answer 
turneth  away  wrath.  "What  have  I  done  in  compari- 
son with  you  ?  "  he  answered.  "  For  God  hath  deliv- 
ered into  your  hands  the  princes  of  Midian.  Is  not 
the  gleaning  of  the  grapes  of  Ephraim  better  than 
the  vintage  of  Abi-ezer  ?  " 

The  gleaning  of  the  grapes  of  Ephraim  !  This  is 
the  portion  that  falls  to  us.  We  are  living  in  a  glori- 
ous day.  Our  fathers  gathered  the  vintage  with 
strife  and  travail  and  garments  rolled  in  blood.  It 
is  for  us  to  stand  at  the  waters  of  Beth-barah  and 
gather  up  the  fruits  of  victory.  The  world  is  at  its 
very  best.  If  life  was  ever  worth  living,  it  is  worth 
living  now.  Great  is  the  privilege  and  correspond- 
ingly great  is  the  responsibility  of  those  who  are  ap- 
pointed to  glean  the  grapes  of  Ephraim. 

I.  Ours  is  the  golden  age  of  truth. 

(i)  The  body  of  truth  is  larger  than  that  of  any 
former  time.  We  shall  probably  agree  that  Aris- 
totle was  one  of  the  most  learned  of  the  ancients ; 
but  if  he  were  to  return  to-day,  he  could  scarcely 
pass  a  preliminary  examination  for  admission  to  one 
of    our    grammar    schools.     The  results  of  past  re- 


THE  GLEANING  OF  THE  GRAPES  OF  EPHRAIM.        175 

search  and  controversy  along  the  past  have  accumu- 
lated into  a  great  treasury  of  knowledge.  Each 
generation  has  contributed  its  part.  One  settled  the 
matter  of  the  rotundity  of  the  earth;  another  gave 
the  law  of  gravitation  ;  and  still  another  the  conser- 
vation of  force.  One  gave  gunpowder,  another  steam, 
and  still  another  electricity.  One  argued  out  the 
doctrine  of  the  Incarnation,  another  the  personality 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  still  another  that  of  Justifi- 
cation by  Faith.  These  truths  have  been  laid  down 
as  postulates  upon  which  to  rear  a  superstructure  of 
other  truth.  To  be  sure  there  are  people  who  insist 
on  going  back  and  demonstrating  each  for  himself 
these  fundamental  facts  ;  as  if  seamstresses  should 
insist  on  sewing  with  a  fish  bone  or  old-fashioned 
bodkin  ;  or  as  if  farmers  were  to  plow  their  fields  with 
a  crooked  stick.  But  the  great  multitude  of  people 
in  these  days  are  content  and  glad  to  profit  by  the 
achievements  of  the  past.  They  believe  that  a  better 
vision  of  the  great  landscape  of  truth  may  be  had  by 
standing  on  the  shoulders  of  their  forebears.  His- 
tory is  not  a  treadmill  wherein  men  go  round  and 
round  getting  nowhere,  "  forever  learning,  yet  never 
coming  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth."  Nay,  rather, 
it  is  a  thoroughfare,  the  King's  highway,  whereon 
we  journey  like  a  royal  troop,  league  by  league, 
laden  with  the  spoils  of  the  conquest  until  we  come 
to  the  palace  of  the  King. 

(2)  The  great  body  of  truth,  thus  accumulated,  is 
held  in  a  truer  spirit  of  toleration  than  the  past  ever 
knew.  It  is  only  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  since 
Galileo,  in  the  papal  council,  was  required  to  make 
this  statement  :  "  I  abjure,  curse  and  detest  the  heresy 
of  the  motion  of  the  earth,  and   I   promise  to  teach 


176        THE  GLEANING   OF  THE  GRAPES  OF  EPHRAIM. 

that  the  earth  is  the  centre  of  the  universe  and  an 
immovable  body."  After  which  he  rose  from  his 
knees  and  muttered  between  his  teeth,  "  Nevertheless 
it  does  move ! "  In  our  time  a  man  is  permitted,  with- 
out molestation,  to  believe  as  he  pleases  respecting 
such  matters.  He  may  hold  with  Galileo  or,  if  he 
prefers,  with  John  Jasper  of  Richmond.  In  like  man- 
ner a  wise  latitude  prevails  in  respect  to  religious 
views.  In  the-  Continental  Congress  a  motion  to 
open  the  sessions  of  that  body  with  prayer,  was  op- 
posed by  the  Hon.  John  Jay  on  the  ground  that  so 
many  warring  sects  were  represented  upon  the  floor, 
Quakers,  Anabaptists,  Presbyterians  and  others,  that 
if  one  prayed,  the  rest  could  not  with  patience  hear 
him.  Blessed  be  God,  there  are  no  such  warring 
sects  to-day.  The  various  denominations  of  believers 
may  differ  as  to  non-essentials,  but  they  are  all  agreed 
as  to  those  great  fundamentals  of  truth  which  our 
fathers  of  Abi-ezer  have  handed  down  to  us  from  the 
conflicts  of  the  past.  One  volume  of  prayer  goes  up 
from  all  Christendom  in  the  spirit  of  a  true  fellow- 
ship,— "one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God 
and  Father  of  us  all." 

(3)  And  along  with  this  spirit  of  toleration  goes  a 
truer  orthodoxy  than  of  old.  The  denominations 
may  differ,  and  indeed  do  differ  with  respect  to 
minor  matters,  but  they  are  loyal  to  old  landmarks. 
If  you  want  to  find  skepticism  with  reference  to  these, 
go  back  to  the  time  of  the  primitive  Church  and  hear 
the  Apostles  admonishing  against  Arianism  and 
Gnosticism  and  Docetism  and  Ebionism  and  Neo- 
Platonism  and  countless  other  erratic  modes  of  faith. 
If  you  want  to  find  heretics,  go  back  to  the  Middle 
Ages,  when  the  Bible  was  chained   to  the  monastery 


THE  GLEANING  OF  THE  GRAPES  OF  EPHRAIM.       177 

pillars,  and  see  the  wide-spread  revolt  of  the  human 
intellect  against  the  absolutism   of  the  Church  ;  the 
days  when  the  lights  were  out  and  there  was  no  open 
vision  ;  when  Bulls  and  Decretals  were  enforced   by 
scourge  and  thumb-screw  and  fagot.     If  you  are  in' 
quest  of  heretics,  go  back  to  the  time  of  the  Reforma- 
tion; then,  amid  the  exuberant  joy  of  new-found  free- 
dom, all  sorts  of  excesses  in  infidelity  were  to  be  found 
under  the  banner  of  religious  emancipation.    Or  if  you 
are  hunting  for  heretics,  go  back  to  the  beginning 
of    the    present  century  :     the   time  of  Voltaire   and 
Rousseau  and  the  French  Encyclopedia  ;  the  time  of 
Thomas  Paine  and   the  "Age  of  Reason  ";  when,  at 
the  inauguration  of  President  Dwight,  there  were  only 
four    professing    Christians    in   Yale   College  ;  when 
there  was  only  one  professing  Christian  in  Bowdoin 
College  ;   when    Park    Street    Church    was    the    only 
orthodox  Church  in  Boston,  and   so  unpopular  that 
the  "best  people"  were  accustomed   to   sit  under  its 
ministrations,  with  mufflers  over  their  faces.      Oh  no, 
these  are  not  the  days  of  heresy,  but  rather  of  quiet 
rest  on  the  part  of  the  great  majority  of  believers  in 
the  fundamental   and  proven  facts  of  the   Christian 
system.     It  is  not  for  nothing  that  our  fathers,  in  the 
great  struggles  of  the  past,  formulated   our  historic 
creeds  and  symbols.     We  may  differ  on  some  things 
which  yet  await  their  final  settlement,  but  the   uni- 
versal Church  can  stand  upon  its  feet  to-day  and  say 
with    united    voice  :  "  I   believe  in   God    the    Father 
Almighty  and  in  Jesus  Christ,  his  only  Son  our  Lord; 
who  was  conceived   by  the  Holy  Ghost,  born   of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  died  for  us,  rose  again  and  shall  return 
to  judge  the  quick  and  dead.     I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,  the  communion  of 


178        THE  GLEANING  OF  THE  GRAPES  OF  EPHRAIM. 

saints  ;  the  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  the  resurrection  of 
the  body  ;  and  the  life  everlasting.     Amen." 

II.  Ours  is,  also,  the  Golden  Age  of  morality,  partic- 
ularly in  its  larger  sense  as  touching  all  the  relations 
of  man  with  his  fellow-men. 

(i)  The  industrial  reform  may  be  cited  in  evidence. 
What  does  it  mean  that  at  this  moment  tens  of 
thousands  of  workingmen  in  Brooklyn  have  struck 
for  higher  wages  ?  Such  a  thing  would  not  have 
been  possible  in  the  days  of  ancient  Rome,  when  all 
wealth  and  power  were  concentrated  in  the  hands  of 
ten  thousand  patricians  with  millions  of  plebeians 
and  slaves  under  them,  to  whom  were  accorded 
neither  wages  nor  rights  of  any  sort  whatsoever.  A 
strike  was  never  dreamed  of  then.  As  late  as  the 
time  of  Charles  II.,  a  popular  ballad  was  written,  set- 
ting forth  the  complaint  of  the  weavers,  who,  receiving 
sixpence  a  day,  pleaded  for  a  shilling.  We  have 
gotten  far  past  the  time  of  silent  sufferance  or  even 
of  popular  ballads.  It  is  a  fact  of  immense  signifi- 
cance that  labor  and  capital,  employer  and  employee, 
have  reached  the  fighting  level ;  when  face  to  face 
and  eye  to  eye  they  are  settling  the  problem.  A 
ballad  calling  for  a  shilling  a  day  !  Nay,  not  ballads, 
but  ballots  for  the  multitude  and  bullets  in  the  last 
reduction.  Nay,  not  a  shilling  a  day  now,  but  ten 
times  as  much  for  the  earnest  toiler  and  still  a  con- 
tention for  more.  Capital  has  rights  for  which  it 
tenaciously  strives  ;  labor  has  rights  for  which  it 
vigorously  contends.  Out  of  this  conflict  must  come 
the  solution  :  an  honest  day's  wages  for  an  honest 
day's  work  ;  corporations  with  souls  and  laborers 
with    rights.     Thus    are    we    hastening   on     to   that 


THE  GLEANING   OF   THE  GRAPES  OF  EPHRAIM.        I  79 

blessed  time  "  when  man   to   man,    the    whole  world 
o'er  shall  brothers  be  an'  a'  that." 

(2)  The  temperance  reform.  This  was  almost  un- 
heard of  a  century  ago.  In  the  American  Congress 
of  1789  a  duty  was  placed  on  glass  with  a  singular 
reservation  ;  that  reservation  was  in  respect  to  black 
quart  bottles,  which  were  to  be  admitted  free  !  In 
180S  a  Temperance  Society  was  organized  in  Saratoga 
County,  New  York,  in  which  forty-three  members,  all 
of  them  substantial  farmers,  pledged  themselves  not 
to  drink  gin,  whiskey  or  rum  under  a  penalty  of 
twenty-five  cents  and  not  to  be  drunken  under  a 
penalty  of  fifty  cents  for  each  offence.  We  have 
travelled  a  great  distance  since  then.  Now  we  hear 
of  total  abstinence  as  the  right  rule  of  personal  life 
and  of  prohibition  as  the  best  means  of  controlling 
the  drink  traffic.  For  this  we  have  to  thank  the 
fathers  who  gathered  the  vintage  of  Abi-ezer  ;  who, 
in  the  controversies  of  moral  suasion  and  legislation, 
wrought  out  these  more  salutary  methods  and 
passed  on  their  achievements  to  us. 

(3)  Political  reform.  We  hear  much  of  "  civic 
corruption"  in  these  days;  of  bribery  and  black-mail 
and  the  like.  In  the  time  of  William  III.,  bribery  was 
so  commonly  practised  that  the  king  publicly 
announced  his  inability  to  dispense  with  it,  saying, 
"Under  the  existing  order  of  things,  to  refuse  the 
common  practice  would  endanger  the  crown."  The 
municipal  corruption  which  is  so  arousing  the  popular 
indiofnation  at  this  moment  would  have  been  made 
little  of  in  former  days.  It  is  a  good  sign — this  stir- 
ring about  the  Augean  stables.  It  is  a  glorious  sign 
this  clamoring  for  the  sovereignty  of  the  people.  We 
want  no  monarchy  now,  no  oligarchy  now,  but  true 


iSo        THE  GLEANING  OF  THE  GRAPES  OF  EPHRAIM. 

democracy.  The  people  can  be  trusted.  We  write 
it  large,  King  People  !  Men  and  potentates  are 
reduced  to  the  ranks.  God  and  the  people  are  con- 
trolling things.  Nay,  God  through  the  people. 
Vox  populi  vox  Dei. 

(4)  Sociological  problems.  AH  branches  of  the 
Christian  Church  are  concerned  in  the  discussion  of 
questions  which  touch  the  welfare  of  the  community  ; 
the  betterment  of  home  and  society  ;  the  care  of  the 
poor,  the  aged  and  all  incapables.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  Christian  Era  there  was  a  place  down  by  the 
Sheep  Market  in  Jerusalem,  where  the  lame  and  the 
halt  and  the  withered  were  laid  to  await  the  moving 
of  the  waters  ;  this  was  the  best  hospital  of  the  time. 
On  the  other  side  of  Gennesaret,  in  the  land  of  the 
Gadarenes,  a  poor  demoniac  had  his  dwelling  among 
the  tombs;  that  was  the  best  sanitarium  for  the 
insane  of  that  time.  At  the  Gate  Beautiful,  a  paralytic 
asked  an  alms  of  Peter  and  John  as  they  passed  by  ; 
that  was  the  best  asylum  for  the  poor  of  those  days. 
But  all  along  the  line  of  Christian  history,  there  have 
sprung  up  institutions  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  and 
the  suffering,  and  to-day  we  are  clamoring  for  more 
hospitals,  more  sanitariums  and  more  asylums.  The 
liberalitas  of  the  ancient  world  has  given  way  to  the 
caritas  of  our  religion.  We  are  beginning  to  under- 
stand the  song  of  the  angels,  not  merely  in  its 
ascription  of  glory  to  God,  but  also  in  its  expression  of 
good  will  toward   men. 

(5)  As  to  personal  character.  We  make  more  of 
character  and  less  of  adventitious  prominence  than 
of  old.  "The  rank  is  but  the  guinea's  stamp,  the 
man's  the  gowd."  Vices  that  were  once  fashionable 
are  disreputable  now  ;  betting,  horse-racing,  duelling, 


THE  GLEANING  OF  THE  GRAPES  OF  EPHRAIM.       iSl 

Sabbath  desecration,  marital  infidelity  are  under  the 
ban.  The  Decalogue  and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
have  found  their  way  into  the  walk  and  conversation 
of  the  average  man.  Sin  is  still  here  but  it  does  not 
find  such  open  expression  in  flagrant  vices.  The 
world  expects  more  of  manhood.  It  certainly  expects 
more  of  Christian  manhood.  The  father  of  the  poet 
Shelley  was  wont  to  say, 

"  At  church  on  Sunday  to  attend 

Will  serve  to  make  a  man  your  friend." 

This,  however,  is  not  the  reason  why  people  go  to 
church  in  these  days.  The  world  hates  sham  and 
Pharisaism  and  inconsistency.  Let  a  Christian  go 
astray  and  he  is  held  up  to  derision  in  the  newspa- 
pers. This  is  a  great  tribute  paid  to  the  ethics  of 
Christianity.  Something  higher  than  ever  before  is 
expected  of  it. 

But  truth  and  morality  cannot  make  either  a  na- 
tion or  a  man,  unless  there  be  something  within  and 
behind  them,  to-wit:  inoral  energy.  We  go  on,  there- 
fore, to  say  : 

III.  This  is  the  Golden  Age  of  moral  energy.  Truth 
and  ethics  are  changed  into  power  by  a  fire  burning 
beneath  them.  The  Church  works  with  a  purpose. 
A  man,  aside  from  his  creed  and  personal  graces, 
must  in  these  times  have  something  to  do. 

(i)  There  was  a  time  when  good  people  were 
chiefly  concerned  about  their  personal  salvation. 
The  chief  end  of  man  was  to  escape  from  that  fire 
that  is  never  quenched.  The  supreme  desire  was  to 
read  one's  title  clear  to  mansions  in  the  skies.  Each 
for  himself,  was  the  shibboleth  of  those  days. 


l82        THE  GLEANING  OF  THE  GRAPES  OF  EPHRAIM, 

(2)  At  Other  times  the  people  of  God  have  been 
chiefly  concerned  for  the  preservation  of  the  Church. 
This  was  the  meaning  of  the  Crusades  ;  in  them  we 
find  a  stern  endeavor  to  rescue  the  Holy  Sepulchre, 
and  so  to  vindicate  the  majesty  of  the  Church  and 
avenge  her  wrongs.  The  effort  was  not  to  convert 
the  infidel,  but  to  destroy  him  .root  and  branch. 
Vae  victis!  This  was  the  meaning  of  the  Inquisition; 
the  Church  must  be  preserved  by  the  burning  out  of 
heresy.  So  the  r§ick  and  the  thumb-screw,  flashing 
swords  and  blazing  fagots,  were  brought  into  requisi- 
tion to  save  the  Church.  It  seemed  to  be  forgotten 
that  this  was  God's  affair  and  that  he  had  pledged 
himself  to  the  preservation  of  his  Zion,  saying, 
"  The  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it." 

(3)  In  our  time  we  speak  of  the  Kingdom.  This 
is  the  missionary  age.  All  are  summoned  to  work — 
men,  women  and  children.  All  are  summoned  to 
work  for  the  evangelization  of  the  world — the  deliv- 
erance of  souls  from  sin.  We  have  at  last  heard  the 
Master  say,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  evangelize." 
It  was  only  two  hundred  years  ago  that  Richard 
Baxter  lamented,  "The  world  lieth  heavy  on  my 
heart.  O,  that  I  might  but  go  and  preach  the  glorious 
gospel  among  the  Turks,  Tartars  and  heathens  !  "  At 
that  time  Christianity  was  provincial,  now  Chris- 
tianity is  cosmopolitan.  Baxter  could  not  go.  Now 
any  man  can  go.  The  era  of  exploration  was  long  ago 
followed  by  the  era  of  colonization,  which  has  at 
length  given  way  to  the  era  of  evangelization.  The 
Chinese  Wall  has  fallen  down.  A  new  figure — Japan — 
rises  among  the  nations  to  be  the  champion  of  Bud- 
dhism ;  to  make  the  last  struggle  on  earth  for  a  false 
religion,  which  in  the  near  future  must  vanish  like  a 


THE  GLEANING  OF  THE  GRAPES  OF  EPHRAIM.       183 

spectre  into  the  limbo  of  all  the  false  religions  of  the 
centuries  gone  by.  We  seem  to  be  dwelling  in  the 
early  twilight  of  the  last  days.  The  victory  of  Christ 
is  a  foregone  conclusion.  His  glory  shall  cover  the 
earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea. 

Is  life  worth  living?  Is  life  worth  living  now? 
Aye,  a  thousand  times.  Let  us  fall  in  with  the  men 
of  Ephraim  for  the  last  gleaning.  The  blast  of  God's 
bugle  calls  us  to  the  fords  of  Jordan.  It  devolves 
upon  us  to  make  many  captives  unto  hope.  A  grander 
privilege  is  ours  than  ever  was  known  in  the  days  of 
the  scourge  and  dungeon.  Glorious  heroes  were  the 
men  of  Abi-ezer,  but  Oreb  and  Zeeb  are  for  us. 

It  is  said  that  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  notable 
above  all  the  battles  of  our  Civil  War,  in  that  all  the 
troops  on  either  side  were  engaged  in  it.  Old  John 
Burns  was  there  with  his  flint-lock  musket.  All  at 
it ;  always  at  it ;  altogether  at  it.  The  last  battle  of 
God's  great  crusade  is  for  us.  The  glory  of  the  last 
victory  is  for  us.  Let  us  so  realize  our  privilege  and 
our  responsibility,  also,  that  we  may  come  at  last, 
laden  with  the  gleanings  of  the  vintage,  through  the 
gates,  into  the  city  of  God. 


THE  PRONOUN  OF  FAITH. 

A  Sacramental  fleditation. 

"  The  Lord  is  my  rock,  and  my  fortress,  and  my  deliverer  ;  my  God,  my 
strength,  in  whom  I  will  trust ;  my  buckler,  and  the  horn  of  my  salvation, 
and  my  high  tower."— Ps.  xviii.  2. 

Luther  thanked  God  for  the  personal  pronouns. 
Let  us  go  further  and  thank  him  for  the  possessive 
pronoun  first  person  singular.  It  occurs  eight  times 
in  our  text,  making  a  rare  inventory  of  spiritual  pos- 
session :  "  My  God,  my  rock,  my  fortress,  my  de- 
liverer, my  strength,  my  buckler,  the  horn  of  my 
salvation,  my  high  tower." 

It  is  the  common  thing  in  these  times  to  live  in 
apartments.  There  is  this  to  be  said  in  its  favor  : 
there  is  an  almost  absolute  relief  from  the  responsi- 
bilities of  home-keeping.  No  care  of  the  furnace,  no 
sweeping  of  walks,  no  worry  about  the  morning  meal, 
no  tax  collector,  no  retinue  of  servants  ;  it  is  indeed 
a  dolce  far  niente  sort  of  life.  And  yet,  the  average 
man  would  rather  live  in  a  thatched  cottage  of  his 
own,  than  in  the  most  palatial  suite  of  rented  rooms. 
The  right  of  ownership  goes  so  far  !  It  warms  the 
blood  to  be  able  to  say,  "  My  wee  bit  ingle,  my  thrifty 
wifie,  my  clean  hearth-stone." 

This  pronoun  marks  the  difference  between  bar- 
barism and  civilization.  The  Bedouin  owns  nothing 
save  his  spear,  his  prayer  rug  and  his  cilicia  tent ;  not 

(184) 


THE    PRONOUN    OF    FAITH.  185 

even  the  ground  on  which  he  makes  his  restless  home. 
His  tribe  eats  from  a  common  dish  and  rests  on  the 
bosom  of  a  common  earth.  Such  communism  pre- 
vails ever  at  the  botton  of  the  social  fabric.  The 
negroes  of  our  Southern  States  in  "  de  ole  slavery 
days  "  owned  nothing.  We  hear  much  of  their  happy- 
go  lucky  content  ;  their  songs  and  dances  in  the 
quarters  ;  but  of  rights  and  privileges,  as  of  other 
personal  possessions,  they  had  none.  The  moment 
their  chains  were  broken  the  struggle  for  proprietor- 
ship began.  No  sooner  did  they  realize  that  they 
owned  themselves  than  they  conceived  an  ambition 
to  own  something  beside  themselves.  The  brightest 
hope  of  the  Black  Belt  to-day  is  in  the  fact  that  they 
are  struggling  for  something  they  can  call  their  own; 
it  may  be  only  a  two-acre  plantation  and  a  humble 
hut,  but  whenever  a  man  begins  to  say  "  my"  he  is 
looking  up,  his  career  as  a  capitalist  has  begun,  he  is 
a  stockholder  in  the  commonwealth,  his  self-respect 
has  come  to  the  birth  ;  the  possessive  pronoun  first 
person  singular  has  done  it. 

There  are  three  degrees  of  apprehension  ;  that  is, 
of  coming  into  the  ownership  of  things  :  First,  in- 
tellectual ;  second,  emotional  ;  third,  vital.  The  last 
alone  gives  a  fee  simple  right. 

As  to  a  given  truth  in  geometry,  (i)  I  see  yon- 
der on  the  blackboard  a  demonstration  of  this 
proposition,  The  area  of  a  circle  is  equal  to  that  of 
a  triangle  whose  base  is  equal  to  the  circumference  and 
whose  height  is  equal  to  the  radius  of  this  circle.  I  get  an 
intellectual  apprehension  of  the  truth  of  this  prop- 
osition from  its  demonstration  on  the  board.  The 
proof  is  so  conclusive  that  I  am  constrained  to  say 
"  I   believe."     (2)    I   learn   presently   that   this  is  the 


l86  THE    PRONOUN    OF    FAITH. 

very  proposition  on  which  Archimedes  was  employed 
when  the  city  of  Syracuse  was  taken.  He  was  down 
upon  his  knees  engaged  in  drawing  figures  on  the 
floor  when  tlie  gates  were  forced.  There  was  the 
flashing  of  a  sword-blade  and  the  mathematician  lay 
dead  as  the  penalty  of  absorption  in  his  favorite 
pursuit.  That  which  was  previously  a  mere  objective 
fact  to  me,  now  assumes  a  new  interest.  I  can  never 
again  think  of '  that  circle  and  triangle  without 
associating  therewith  the  tragic  story  of  Syracuse. 
My  emotions  have  been  enlisted.  (3)  In  my  desire 
to  secure  a  portion  of  ground  for  a  garden  plot,  I 
summon  a  surveyor  who,  to  the  measurement  of  the 
land,  applies  the  foregoing  mathematical  principle. 
This  brings  it  vastly  nearer  to  me.  In  making  this 
garden  mine  I  built  a  fence  along  the  base,  the  per- 
pendicular and  hypothenuse  of  that  triangle,  and  by 
its  cultivation  I  make  my  livelihood.  So  the  fact 
which  previously  touched  my  intellect  or  my  emotions 
alone,  has  now  become  an  actual  potent  part  of  my 
life  and  the  possessive  pronoun  first  person  singular 
may  fairly  be  attached  to  it. 

Let  us  approach  in  like  manner  the  larger  truth 
of  human  equality  or  the  solidarity  of  the  race,  (i) 
We  are  forced  to  regard  it  as  an  ethnological  fact. 
Our  scientists  have  been  enabled,  by  observing  racial 
resemblances,  to  trace  all  tribes  and  nations  back  to 
a  common  source  ;  teaching  us  that  we  are  all  kins- 
folk, being  the  sons  of  Seth,  who  was  the  Son  of 
Adam,  who  was  the  son  of  God.  I  yield  an  intellect- 
ual assent  to  this  fact,  but  as  yet  it  makes  no  pro- 
found impression  upon  me.  (2)  I  stand  in  the 
shadow  of  Old  Independence  Hall  in  Philadelphia 
and  hear  the  clang  of  Liberty  Bell.     They  tell  me  that 


THE    PRONOUN    OF    FAITH.  187 

the  announcement  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  our  con- 
stitutional fabric  has  at  length  been  made,  "  All  men 
are  created  free  and  equal    and  with  certain  inalien- 
able   rights."     My    heart  beats    responsive    to    that 
truth  ;  my  blood    runs  hot  and  fast   with    patriotic 
emotion  ;  I  now  not  merely  believe,  but  feel  the  great 
truth  touching  my  heart.     It  has  come  vastly  nearer 
than  when   it  touched  my  brain   alone,  but  it  must 
come  nearer  still    before  it  shall  be  fully  mine.     (3) 
My    rights   with  respect  to  the  little  garden  plot  are 
invaded.     A  neighboring  landlord  of  superior  wealth 
and  influence  clamors  for  it  as  Ahab  did  for  Naboth's 
vineyard.     My  plea  is  based  upon  the  proposition  that 
my  influential  neighbor  is,  under  the  great  principle 
of  human  equality,  no  greater  than  I  ;  that  my  rights 
are  as  sacred  as  his   before  the  Common  Law.     My 
plea  is  heard;  my  claim  is  respected;  thenceforth  that 
truth,  the  equality  of  all  men,  has  such  a  practical 
relation  to  my  personal  affairs,  to  my  home  and  live- 
lihood, that  I  am  warranted  in  saying,  "  I  have  made 
it  mine."     At  length  I  have,  by  a  vital  apprehension, 
vindicated  a  personal  right  in  it. 

All  this  by  way  of  arriving  at  a  definitiofi  of  faith. 
We  are  saved  by  faith.  The  beginning  of  the  Chris- 
tian life  is  in  getting  a  real  apprehension  of  the  great 
truth  of  the  atonement,  as  it  is  written  :  "  He  that 
believeth  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be  saved." 
"  Only  believe."  "  He  that  believeth  in  the  Son  hath 
entered  into  life."  "  The  just  shall  live  by  his  faith." 
"  Therefore,  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace 
with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  But  what 
is  faith  ?  or,  what  is  it  to  believe  in  Christ  ? 

L    Jt  is  not  merely  to  have  an  intellectual  apprehension 
of  the  fundamental  truths  of  Christianity.     A    man  may 


l88  THE    PRONOUN    OF    FAITH. 

consent  to  the  truth  of  an  objective  dogma  without 
in  any  profitable  sense  believing  in  it. 

I  stand  beside  the  manger  and  look  into  the  face 
of  the  Christ-child;  doubting;  questioning;  hearken- 
ing to  the  voice  of  Scripture,  of  the  great  multitudes 
of  believers  and  of  history  in  the  procession  of 
centuries  since  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  Era. 
By  this  I  am  forced  to  yield  an  intellectual  assent 
to  the  propositiofi  that  this  child  in  the  manger  is  the 
incarnate  Son  of  God.  I  note  the  difficulties  in  the 
way,  crying,  "  Great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness  ; 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  And  yet,  by  the  over- 
whelming testimony  in  favor  of  this  truth,  I  am 
compelled  to  assent  to  it. 

Then  I  come  to  Calvary  and  stand  under  the 
shadow  of  the  cross  ;  here  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  dying. 
The  rumbling  of  the  earth,  the  strange  darkness  at 
high  noon,  the  cry  that  pierced  that  darkness,  Elol\ 
jEloi,  la?na  sabachthani^  the  voice  of  prophecy  respect- 
ing this  event,  the  testimony  of  that  great  multitude 
who  assert  that  the  heart  of  Jesus  was  broken  under 
the  burden  of  their  sins,  the  tribute  paid  by  all  sub- 
sequent history  to  the  unique  importance  of  this 
tragedy,  all  force  me  to  conclude  that  as  this  was  no 
common  man,  so  this  was  no  ordinary  death.  The 
words  of  Rousseau  are  pressed  in  upon  me  as  the 
conclusion  of  cold  reason:  "If  Socrates  died  like  a 
philosopher,  then  Jesus  died  like  a  God." 

And  now  I  stand  beside  the  open  sepulchre.  I  test 
the  story  of  the  alleged  miracle  here  by  the  rules  of 
common  evidence  and  am  convinced.  It  is  easier  to 
assent  to  the  miracle,  than  to  believe  that  the 
universal  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  has  affixed  its  faith 
to  a  colossal  falsehood  during  these  nineteen  centuries. 


THE    PRONOUN    OF    FAITH.  189 

"  He  was  dead  and  is  alive  for  evermore.  He  brake 
the  bands  of  death,  taking  captivity  captive,  and  hath 
ascended  up  on  high  to  give  gifts  unto  men." 

Here  are  three  great  truths  of  the  Christian  sys- 
tem :  the  incarnation,  the  atonement,  and  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus.  The  test  of  orthodo.xy  is  to  believe 
in  these  fundamental  facts.  My  intellect  asserts 
them;  I  am  orthodox  ;  but  the  devils  also  believe  and 
tremble.     We  have  not  reached  faith  thus  far. 

n.  Nor  is  it  to  yield  an  emotional  assent  to  the  Chris- 
tian system.  We  may  supplement  our  syllogisms 
with  "  Hosannahs  "  and  "  Hallelujahs  "  and  still  be  far 
from  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  worst  of  men  have 
been  known  to  stain  their  Bibles  with  their  tears. 
A  troup  of  godless  tourists,  pausing  in  their  travels 
at  Ober-Ammergau,  have  gazed  there  upon  the 
dramatic  presentation  of  the  great  tragedy  of  the 
cross,  and  have  been  moved  to  passionate  cries  and 
sobs  and  then  have  gone  their  way  to  live  again 
among  the  beggarly  elements  of  this  world.  I  stand 
in  old  Jerusalem  with  the  multitude  who  crowned 
the  man  of  Nazareth  with  thorns  and  robed  him  in 
ribald  purple  ;  I  see  them  beating  him  with  scourges, 
spitting  in  his  face,  and  deriding  him  ;  I  see  them 
lead  him  beyond  the  gates  with  mad  cries,  "Crucify 
him  !  crucify  him  !  "  I  am  moved  with  an  infinite 
indignation  when  they  nail  his  hands  and  feet  upon 
the  cross.  "  Oh,  this  is  the  great  crime  of  the  ages!  " 
I  exclaim  ;  "  Was  there  ever  greater  depth  of  infamous 
cruelty  ?  "  My  emotion  is  like  that  of  the  Saxon  King 
who,  when  the  missionary  told  him  the  story  of 
Calvary,  drew  his  sword  in  fiery  anger,  saying,  "Had 
I  been  there  with  my  brave  men,  we  would  have 
avenged  him ! " 


190  THE    PRONOUN    OF    FAITH. 

Nay,  further,  it  is  not  the  crime  alone  or  the  la- 
mentable tragedy  that  affects  me,  but  a  realizing 
sense  of  the  fact  that  Jesus,  as  the  incarnate  Son  of 
God,  coming  forth  as  a  knight  errant  for  the  deliver- 
ance of  men  from  their  sins,  bears  yonder  upon  his 
heart,  like  a  great  Atlas,  the  world's  burden.  He  is 
tasting  death  for  every  man.  O  divine  condescen- 
sion !     O  infinite  compassion  !     O  unspeakable  love  ! 

All  this  and  yet  I  have  not  attained  unto  faith. 
Feeling  is  not  believing.  To  weep  is  not  to  surren- 
der. The  heart  may  throb  to  breaking  and  yet  not 
practically  grasp  the  saving  power  of  the  truth. 

III.  Faith  is  the  vital  apprehension  of  Christ.  It 
does  not  merely  assent  to  the  fact,  nor  merely  weep 
over  it  ;  it  throvv's  the  heart  wide  open  to  this  incar- 
nate Son  of  God  and  bids  him  come  in  and  take  pos- 
session. It  says,  "He  loveth  me  and  gave  himself  for 
me  "  ;  and  goes  on  to  say,  "  He  is  my  Saviour  and 
my  Friend." 

The  best  definition  of  faith  that  was  ever  given  is 
in  the  object-lesson  of  the  sacrament.  To  believe  in 
the  truth  is  to  receive  it  as  a  man  receives  food,  so 
that  it  shall  enter  into  his  life  ;  as  it  is  written,  "Ex- 
cept ye  eat  the  flesh  and  drink  the  blood  of  the  Son 
of  Man,  ye  have  no  life  in  you."  The  bread  which  we 
eat  is  transformed  into  bone  and  sinew  and  blood  ; 
nay,  more,  is  transformed  into  thought  and  ambition 
and  noble  deed.  We  speak  of  bread,  therefore,  as  the 
staff  of  life.  Christ  is  the  living  Bread.  In  partaking 
of  the  bread  upon  the  sacramental  table  we  assert  our 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ  in  such  a  manner  as  that  he  is 
inextricably  blended  with  our  life.  "We  no  longer 
live,  but  Christ  liveth  in  us." 

On  the  upper  deck  of  the  steamship  Elbe,  which 


THE    PRONOUN    OF    FAITH.  ,  191 

sailed  from  Bremen  last  Tuesday  morning,  a  woman's 
eyes  rested  upon  the  life-boat ;  she  was  impressed  by 
its  beautiful  proportions,  by  its  staunch  construction 
and  she  said  within  herself,  "In  danger  this  would  be 
a  trustworthy  craft."  On  that  same  day,  later  on,  the 
skipper  of  the  ship,  standing  beside  the  life-boat,  told 
her  how  on  the  previous  voyage  a  sailor  had  fallen 
overboard  ;  how  that  life-boat  had  been  launched  with 
all  haste  and  breasting  the  waves  had  reached  the 
strangling  swimmer  and  saved  him.  She  had  previ- 
ously convinced  herself  that  the  life-boat  was  so  built 
as  to  be  trustworthy  ;  her  heart  now  responded  to 
that  conviction,  touched,  as  it  was,  by  the  tale  c.  the 
rescued  sailor.  On  Wednesday  morning  the  Elbe 
went  down  in  the  North  Sea.  That  same  woman, 
tossed  about  in  the  chill  waters,  seized  hold  of  that 
life-boat ;  the  voice  of  one  of  the  crew  cried, 
"  Thrust  her  off  !  "  but  other  manlier  hands  drew  her 
into  the  boat  and  saved  her.  To-day  her  thought 
toward  that  life-boat  is  far  beyond  what  it  was  or 
could  have  been  before  she  committed  her  destinies 
to  it.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  that  life-boat  has 
become  her  own  eternal  possession  :  the  story  of  her 
life  is  forever  bound  up  with  it. 

In  the  life  of  the  disciple  Thomas,  there  was  prob- 
ably no  moment  when  he  did  not  believe  as  a  matter 
of  fact  that  Jesus  was  the  very  Son  of  God.  He  had 
listened  to  his  sermons  and  was  prepared  to  say, 
"Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  He  had  seen  his 
miracles  and  they  added  confirmation  to  his  conviction 
respecting  the  divineness  of  Jesus.  But  there  came 
a  time  when  his  Lord,  crucified  and  risen  from  the 
dead,  stood  before  him,  saying  "Reach  hither  thy  fin. 


192  THE    PRONOUN    OF    FAITH. 

gers  and  put  them  into  these  nail  prints  ;  reach  hither 
thy  hand  and  thrust  it  into  this  wound  in  my  side." 
Then  Thomas  believed,  exclaiming  with  a  conviction 
beyond  that  of  mere  intellect  or  emotion,  "My  Lord 
and  my  God  !  "  Thence  forward  the  great  truths 
which  centred  in  Christ  were  his  own  ;  his  own  by 
a  personal  appropriation  ;  interwoven  with  the  very 
fabric  of  his  being.  To  him  to  live  was  Christ.  His 
life  was  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 


THE  TABERNACLE. 

"  Which  was  a  figure  for  the  time  then  present."— Heb.  ix.  g. 

I  wish  we  might  go  backward  along  the  path  of 
thirty-four  centuries  and  stand  on  Peor  above  the 
plains  of  Moab,  just  where  Balaam  stood  when  he 
exclaimed,  "  How  goodly  are  thy  tents,  O  Jacob  ;  and 
thy  tabernacles,  O  Israel  ;  as  gardens  by  the  river- 
side and  as  groves  of  lign  aloes  beside  the  waters." 
We  are  gazing  down  upon  a  scene  of  profound  his- 
toric interest.  Here  are  encamped  the  three  millions 
of  Israelites  who  have  escaped  from  the  bondage  of 
Egypt  and  are  now  journeying  toward  the  land  of 
promise.  As  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  mile  upon 
mile,  are  tents  gleaming  in  the  sun.  Observe  the 
singularity  of  their  arrangement.  The  encampment 
is  an  oblong  square  ;  in  its  centre,  an  open  space 
more  than  a  mile  across  ;  in  the  midst  of  that  hollow 
square,  the  tabernacle,  "  a  little  spot  enclosed  by 
grace  out  of  a  dreary  wilderness."  Over  it  is  a  lu- 
minous cloud,  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  of  fire  by 
night,  the  shekinah  or  "excellent  glory  of  God." 

We  are  struck  by  the  small  proportions  of  this 
fabric  ;  the  length  of  its  open  court  is  only  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  feet  and  its  breadth  eighty- 
seven  feet.  It  seems  in  the  far  distance  a  mere  speck 
in  the  midst  of  the  vast  quadrangular  array  of  tents. 
It  is  quite  large  enough,  however,  for  its  purpose.     It 

(193) 


194  THE    TABERNACLE. 

was  not  intended  to  be  a  general  auditorium,  but  a 
mere  oracle — a  meeting  place  for  the  priests,  as  the 
representatives  of  the  people,  with  God. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  "  tent  of  meet- 
ing," so  slight  in  its  dimensions,  occupies  a  consider- 
able place  in  holy  Scripture  ;  indeed,  it  occupies  six 
times  as  much  space  as  the  story  of  the  creation  of 
the  world.  Nor  is  this  without  reason.  God  built 
the  universal  frame  ;  that  was  his  affair.  "  Where 
wast  thou  when  I  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth  ?" 
But  in  the  building  of  the  tabernacle  he  made  use  of 
second  causes  and  in  its  service  the  Levites  were  ap- 
pointed'to  be  laborers  together  with  him.  There  are 
some  things  which  God  keeps  to  himself.  The  fiat, 
"Let  there  be  light,"  tells  all  that  he  cares  to  reveal 
to  us.  But  when  he  wishes  a  golden  candlestick  to 
be  made,  he  must  needs  be  particular  as  to  details. 
The  creating  of  the  sun  was  his  affair  ;  the  adorn- 
ment of  the  earthly  sanctuary  is  ours.  So  with  re- 
spect to  certain  of  the  great  doctrines  of  our  faith. 
You  wish  to  know  respecting  the  eternal  decrees  ; 
God  has  little  to  say.  But  if  you  ask  the  way  of  salva- 
tion, he  will  make  it  so  plain  by  entering  into  the 
most  minute  particulars  as  to  repentance  and  belief, 
that  a  wayfaring  man  though  a  fool  need  not  err 
therein.  The  men  who  v/ere  concerned  in  the  build- 
ing of  the  tabernacle  were  not  left  to  their  own  de- 
vices, but  were  required  to  follow  minutely  the  plans 
and  specifications  which  were  delivered  to  Moses  in 
the  mount.  Post  and  curtain,  cord  and  tassel,  knops 
and  flowers,  lamps  and  snuffers,  were  all  made  after 
a  divine  pattern.  So  in  respect  to  all  our  common 
duties,  it  is   God's  pleasure  to  help  us  to  the  very 


THE    TABERIx-ACLE.  I95 

utmost  ;  as  it  is  written,  "If  any  of  yon  lack  wisdom, 
let  him  ask  of  God  and  it  shall  be  given  him." 

We  are  impressed,  also,  by  the  simplicity  of  this 
fabric.  God  never  made  a  Westminster  Abbey  or  a 
Gothic  cathedral.  The  court  of  the  tabernacle  in  the 
distance,  yonder,  is  enclosed  in  white  linen  curtains 
suspended  from  thorn-wood  posts  which  rest  in  silver 
sockets.  Here  is  simplicity  itself  ;  and  here  is  a  sure 
token  of  its  divineness.  All  God's  works  are  as 
simple  as  they  are  majestic  ;  such  as  the  mountains 
and  the  overarching  skies.  He  would  have  our 
forms  of  worship  of  like  character.  "To  what  pur- 
pose is  the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices?  saith  the 
Lord  ;  I  am  full  of  burnt  offerings  and  the  fat  of 
fed  beasts.  Your  new  moons  and  your  Sabbaths  and 
your  solemn  assemblies,  I  cannot  away  with  them. 
Cease  to  do  evil  ;  learn  to  do  well.  Come  now,  and 
let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord  :  though  your 
sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow  ; 
though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as 
wool."  Our  broad  phylacteries,  our  long  prayers, 
our  tithes  of  mint,  anise  and  cummin,  our  conspicuous 
alms  thrown  into  the  trumpet  mouth  of  corban,  give 
him  no  pleasure.  He  stands  at  Jacob's  well,  between 
the  solemn  pomp  and  circumstance  of  Moriah  on  the 
one  hand  and  Gerizim  on  the  other,  and  says,  "  The 
time  Cometh  when  neither  in  this  mountam,  nor  j'^et 
at  Jerusalem,  ye  shall  worship  God.  God  is  a  spirit: 
and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship  him  in 
spirit  and  in  truth." 

This  tabernacle  of  so  slight  dimensions  and  of 
such  exceeding  simplicity  was  the  central  fact  in  the 
whole  economy  of  Israel.  It  was  meet  that  it  should 
stand  in  the  centre    of  the  encampment  with  all  the 


196  THE    TABERNACLE. 

tents  opening  towards  it  ;  for  here  was  the  seat  of 
the  judicial,  legislative  and  executive  power  of  the 
Theocracv.  There  are  those  who  belittle  the  Church 
in  our  day,  but  the  Church  stands  in  the  midst  of 
history  as  the  tabernacle  stood  in  the  centre  of  the 
Jewish  camp.  It  is  the  one  tremendous  fact  in  civili- 
zation. It  has  ever  been  the  dynamo  of  current 
events.  It  is  not  merely  the  rendezvous  of  God's 
people,  but  the  great  living  organism  through  which 
they  execute  the  divine  purposes  in  the  building  up 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  on  earth.  The  world's 
progress  has  been  parallel  and  co  extensive  with 
church  history.  No  doubt  God  could  have  gotten 
along  without  the  Church  as  he  could  have  done 
without  the  tabernacle  ;  but  it  has  been  his  pleasure 
to  organize  the  Church,  the  antitype  of  the  tabernacle, 
for  the  salvation  of  the  world.  It  began  with  a  little 
coterie  of  eleven  men,  all  of  the  humbler  class  ;  to- 
day it  is  a  mighty  fellowship  reaching  from  the  river 
unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Let  us  not  speak  dis- 
paragingly of  the  Church  ;  for,  as  its  growth  shows, 
it  appeals  to  the  best  instincts  and  noblest  aspirations 
of  all  right-thinking  men. 

It  is  said  that  when  the  Cardinal  Richelieu  wished 
to  build  a  magnificent  palace,  he  selected  the  site  of 
an  ancient  chateau  where  his  ancestors  had  dwelt. 
The  work  of  demolition  began,  but  when  the  work- 
men had  come  to  the  inner  chamber  where  the 
Cardinal  himself  had  first  seen  the  light  and  lain  up- 
on his  mother's  breast,  he  ordered  them  to  desist  and 
bade  the  architect  so  alter  the  design  of  the  new  edi- 
fice as  to  adjust  all  its  proportions  to  that  birth-room. 
So  has  the  great  fabric  of  civilization,  which  is  only 
another  name  for  the  kingdom  of  truth  and  righteous- 


THE    TABERNACLE.  loy 

ness,  been  reared  upon  the  earth.  Its  centre  is  the 
Church,  the  depository  of  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant, 
the  source  and  fountain  of  all  gracious  influences 
among  men. 

Let  us  come  down  from  Peor  now  and  approach 
the  tabernacle.  We  pass  along  between  the  tents  of 
the  tribes  of  Israel  until  we  come  to  the  great  open 
space,  crossing  which,  we  find  ourselves  at 

I.  The  door ;  a  curtain  of  blue  and  purple  and 
scarlet,  hung  upon  four  pillars.  It  speaks  of  Christ 
who  said,  "  I  am  the  door."  Go  round  about  this 
open  court  north  and  west  and  south  and  you  will 
find  no  other.  One  door  only,  looking  off  toward  the 
rising  sun.  "I  am  the  door,"  said  Jesus  ;  "no  man 
Cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me."  There  aremany 
systems  of  religion  but  there  is  only  one  body  of 
truth  ;  so  it  is  written,  "  There  is  none  other  name 
under  heaven  given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be 
saved."  We  draw  this  curtain  and  entering  find  our- 
selves in 

II.  The  open  court ;  and  here  are  two  objects  of 
special  interest,  and  two  only  : 

(i)  The  altar  of  burnt  offering.  It  speaks  of  Jesus 
and  of  Justification  by  Faith.  Its  fire  never  goes  out; 
the  blood  is  always  flowing  over  its  brazen  sides. 
The  Israelite,  who  had  sinned,  brought  a  lamb  for 
this  altar  and  waited  in  suspense  until  he  saw  the 
smoke  ascending,  when  he  cried,  "  My  sin  is  gone  !  " 
It  cannot  be  supposed  that  he  attributed  any  saving 
virtue  to  the  slain  lamb  ;  he  must  have  known  that 
it  was  a  figure  of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world. 

There  are  those  who  take  exception  to  a  relig- 
ion of  blood.     It  is  revolting  to   them  ;  they  would 


IpS  THE    TABERNACLE. 

have  an  aesthetic  offering,  mayhap  of  fruit  and  flowers; 
but  therein  they  make  the  mistake  of  Cain,  who 
brought  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  field  and  garden  ; 
but  Abel  offered,  by  faith,  a  more  acceptable  sacrifice 
in  that  he  brought  of  the  firstlings  of  the  flock — by 
faith,  in  that  he  perceived  afar  off  the  glory  of  the 
vicarious  sacrifice  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God. 

(2)  The  laver  ;  a  great  basin  with  brazen  feet. 
Here  the  priests  and  Levites  cleansed  themselves  be- 
fore they  proceeded  to  their  ministering.  It  speaks  of 
Jesus  and  his  great  doctrine  of  regeneration  ;  of  the 
washing  of  the  waters  of  regeneration  ;  as  he  said, 
"If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part  with  me." 
There  are  those  who  say,  "  I  am  not  fit  to  come  to 
Jesus  now";  let  them  observe  that  the  altar  stands 
before  the  laver.  The  fitness  after  the  sacrifice.  No 
man  ever  yet  was  "  fit  "  to  come  to  Jesus  ;  a  sense  of 
fitness  would  indeed  be  an  insuperable  obstacle  to 
his  coming,  for  it  would  show  an  absence  of  convic- 
tion of  sin.     To  the  altar  first  and  then  to  the  laver. 

"  Just  as  I  am  and  waiting  not 
To  rid  my  soul  of  one  dark  blot ; 
To  Thee  whose  blood  can  cleanse  each  spot, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come  !  " 

We  come  now  to  the  tabernacle  proper;  a  structure 
made  of  acacia  boards,  overlaid  with  gold  and  covered 
with  sealskins.  It  is  divided  into  two  apartments  ; 
the  first  called  "The  Holy  Place"  ;  thirty  feet  long 
and  fifteen  feet  wide  ;  and  the  second,  just  half  as 
large,  called  "The  Holiest  of  All."  We  are  now 
standing  before  the  curtain  of  this  tabernacle  ;  we 
enter  and  find  ourselves  in 


THE    TABERNACLE.  I99 

III.  The  Holy  Place.  Here  are  three  objects  of 
special  interest  and  only  three  : 

(i)  On  our  right  is  the  table  of  shew  bread; 
twelve  loaves,  one  for  each  of  the  tribes  of  Israel. 
It  speaks  of  Christ  :  "Your  fathers  did  eat  manna  in 
the  wilderness  and  are  dead.  I  am  that  living  bread 
which  came  down  from  heaven  of  which,  if  a  man 
eat,  he  shall  never  hunger."  Christ  is  our  life  ;  "  Ex- 
cept ye  eat  the  flesh  and  drink  the  blood  of  the  Son 
of  Man,  ye  have  no  life  in  you." 

(2)  On  the  left  is  the  golden  candlestick.  It  has 
seven  branches  which  are  fed  with  beaten  oil  from  a 
great  bowl  in  the  centre.  There  are  no  windows  in 
this  apartment  ;  the  only  light-giver  is  this  golden 
candlestick.  It  speaks  of  Christ  who  said,  "  I  am  the 
light  of  the  world."  It  was  because  the  world  by 
wisdom  knew  not  God,  that  he  came  to  reveal  him. 
He  scatters  the  darkness  of  sin  and  ignorance,  and 
the  shadows  that  gather  in  the  valley  of  death, 

(3)  The  golden  altar  of  incense.  The  incense  was 
made  according  to  a  divinely  given  rule.  The  rabbis 
say,  to  counterfeit  this  incense  was  death.  The  golden 
altar,  also,  speaks  of  Christ,  of  his  eternal  intercession 
for  us.  As  the  herbs  and  costly  spices  were  bruised 
that  they  might  yield  their  fragrance,  so  by  his 
agony,  being  wounded  and  bruised  for  us,  he  made 
for  himself  an  all-prevailing  name. 

"  Five  bleeding  wounds  he  bears, 

Received  on  Calvary.  ■. 
They  pour  efteciuai  prayers  ; 

Thev  strongly  plead  for  mc. 
Forgive  him,  O  forgive,  they  cry, 
Nor  let  that  ransomed  sinner  die  !  " 

It  is  said  that  when  the  high  priest  entered  the 
Holy  Place  to  make  intercession  for  the  worshipper, 


200  THE    TABERNACLE. 

who  remained  without,  his  safety  and  the  success  of 
his  errand  were  made  known  by  the  tinkling  of  the 
silver  bells  upon  the  borders  of  his  robe.  In  like 
manner  are  we  assured  of  the  prevailing-  power  of  the 
prayers  of  our  great  High  Priest.  Our  visions  of 
heavenly  peace,  our  holy  aspirations  and  resolute 
purposes,  as  well  as  the  sweet  promises  that  come  to 
us  from  the  oracles  here  and  yonder,  are  the  tinkling 
of  the  bells  upon"  his  robe.  He  ever  liveth,  he  ever 
liveth,  to  make  intercession  for  us. 

IV.  We  have  now  come  to  the  Holiest  of  All.  We 
may  not  enter  in.  The  high  priest  alone  is  permitted 
once  a  year,  on  the  great  day  of  atonement,  to  pass 
within  its  sacred  precincts.  Overawed,  we  kneel  be- 
fore the  fine-twined  curtain  to  present  our  supplica- 
tion. It  is  the  day  of  the  great  sacrifice;  off  yonder 
on  Calvary,  the  Christ  is  bearing  our  sins  in  his  own 
body  on  the  tree.  His  heart  is  breaking  under  the 
world's  burden  ;  he  dies  in  the  midst  of  mockery  and 
shame  ;  the  darkness  gathers  about  him  ;  the  cry  is 
heard,  "My  God  !  my  God  !  Why  hast  thou  for- 
saken me  !  "  He  has  reached  the  uttermost  of  his 
vicarious  pain  ;  as  it  is  written  in  our  Creed,  "  He 
descended  into  hell."  At  length,  with  a  loud  voice, 
he  cries,  "  It  is  finished  !  "  and  the  darkness  begins 
to  rise.  At  that  instant,  kneeling  before  the  veil  of 
the  Holiest,  I  lift  my  eyes  and  behold  a  wondrous 
thing  ;  the  veil  is  rent  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  as 
if  by  a  hand  stretched  down  from  above,  and  I  look 
within  upon  the  mysteries  that  no  e)'^e,  save  that  of 
the  high  priest,  has  ever  seen  ! 

It  is  said  that  at  the  overthrow  of  Jerusalem  the 
captain  of  the  Roman  army,  moved  with  curiosity 
respecting  the  mysteries   of  the   Jewish  faith,  which 


THE    TABERNACLE.  20I 

were  represented  to  be  hidden  within  this  sacred 
chamber,  lifted  the  veil  of  the  Holiest  while  his  guard 
waited  without.  A  moment  later  they  heard  a  burst 
of  laughter  and  the  words,  "  There  is  nothing  here 
but  a  wooden  chest."  Nothing  here  !  Alas  !  spirit- 
ual things  must  be  spiritually  discerned.  We  stand 
at  Bethlehem  and  behold  nothing  but  a  mother  with 
an  infant  in  her  arms.  Nothing?  "Great  is  the 
mystery  of  godliness,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh." 
We  come  to  Calvary  and  see  nothing  but  a  man  dying 
on  the  cross.     Nothing  but  that  ? 

"  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood, 
Drawn  from  Immanuel's  veins  ; 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains." 

We  enter  Joseph's  garden  and  behold  nothing  but  an 
empty  grave.  Nothing  but  that?  "Death  is  swallowed 
up  in  victory.  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave, 
where  is  thy  victory?  The  sting  of  death  is  sin  and 
the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law  ;  but  thanks  be  to  God 
who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  The  manger,  the  cross,  the  empty  tomb: 
the  incarnation,  the  atonement,  and  the  resurrection. 
All  these  are  nothing  to  carnal  eyes,  but  to  spiritual 
discernment  they  are  the  three  tremendous  verities  of 
the  Christian  faith.  "  We  preach  Christ  crucified  ; 
to  the  Jews  a  stumbling  block  and  to  the  Greeks 
foolishness  ;  but  to  them  that  are  saved,  the  wisdom 
and  the  power  of  God." 

The  Ark  of  the  Covenant — the  "  wooden  chest  " — 
speaks  eloquently  of  Christ.  Within  it  are  the  tables 
of  the  Law  ;  not  those  which  Moses  broke  in  sudden 
anger,  but  the  unbroken  tables  which  set  forth  the 
perfect  obedience  of  the  Lord  Christ  ;  by  the  impu- 


202  THE    TABERNACLE. 

tation  of  that  righteousness,  we  shall  enter  heaven's 
gate  ;  as  it  is  written,  "  There  is,  therefore,  now  no 
condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus. 
For  what  the  law  could  not  do  in  that  it  was  weak 
through  the  flesh,  God  sending  his  own  Son,  in  the 
likeness  of  sinful  flesh  and  for  sin,  condemned  sin  in 
the  flesh  :  that  the  righteousness  of  the  law  might  be 
fulfilled  in  us." 

The  golden  cover  of  the  ark  was  called  the  mercy- 
seat.  To  that  mercy-seat,  under  the  Old  Economy, 
none  but  the  high  priest  had  access.  A  new  and 
living  way  is  opened  unto  us  by  the  rending  of  this 
veil,  the  bruised  body  of  Christ,  so  that  we  may  enter 
into  this  place  of  privilege. 

"  O  may  my  hand  forget  her  skill, 
My  tongue  be  silent,  cold  and  still, 
This  throbbing  heart  forget  to  beat, 
If  I  forget  the  mercy-seat." 

I  kneel  no  more  without  the  Holiest  of  All.  I 
pass  within  and  cast  myself  down  beside  the  ark 
with  my  face  upon  its  golden  cover  sprinkled  with 
blood.  The  wings  of  the  cherubim  are  over  me  ;  the 
cloudy  presence,  the  "  most  excellent  glory,"  envelops 
me.  I  am  come  boldly  unto  the  throne  of  grace 
where  all  may  come  in  Christ,  and  kneeling  thus  I 
hear  a  voice  :  "  The  Spirit  and  the  bride  say.  Come. 
Let  him  that  heareth  say.  Come.  And  let  him  that 
is  athirst,  come.  And  whosoever  will,  let  him  take 
the  water  of  life  freely."  It  is  finished.  The  Old 
Economy  is  ended.  Its  shadows  are  scattered  before 
the  rising  sun.  Its  secrets  are  disclosed.  The  veil  is 
rent.  The  way  into  the  Holiest  is  open.  All  may 
now  become  kings  and  priests  unto  God. 


TREASURES  OF  THE  SNOW. 

"  Hast  thou  entered  into  the  treasures  of  the  snow  ?"— Job  xxxviii.  22. 

I  am  sorry  for  city  people  who  never  have  known 
the  delights  of  rural  life.  "  God  made  the  country, 
man  made  the  town."  V/hat  do  they  know  about 
the  singing  birds  and  flowing  brooks,  the  blooming 
fields  and  golden  harvests  ?  What  do  they  know 
about  the  joys  of  winter  ;  the  glassy  river,  the  tink- 
ling bells,  the  merry  shout  of  children  issuing  from 
the  school-house  door  into  the  pleasures  of  the  falling 
snow?  To  us  in  the  great  metropolis  a  snow-storm 
means  naught  but  unsightly  heaps  at  the  street  cor- 
ners waiting  to  be  carted  off :  it  suggests  no  more 
than  a  question  of  health  and  possibly  another  of 
honesty  in  the  administration  of  municipal  affairs. 

Let  us  stand  for  a  little  while  under  the  falling 
flakes  and  take  the  lessons  that  come  to  us.  The 
treasures  of  the  snow  !  Out  of  the  mint  of  God  up 
yonder  falls  this  glorious  wealth  all  stamped  with 
his  image  and  superscription.  Inasmuch  as  snow 
was  infrequent  in  the  Holy  Land  there  are  not  many 
references  to  it  in  Scripture  ;  yet  enough  for  helpful 
suggestion  in  many  ways.  Out  of  this  treasury  we 
bring  seven  golden  texts,  to  wit  : 

L  "■The  fool  saith  in  his  heart  There  is  no  God." 
The  fool      I  catch  a  flake  in  my  palm ;  nay,  not  there, 

else  its  fragile  beauty  will  die  in  an  instant,  but  rather 

(203) 


204  TREASURES    OF    THE    SNOW. 

on  a  velvet  cushion  and  put  it  under  a  microscope. 
Now  let  the  "  fool  "  look  and  say  again,  "  There  is  no 
God !  "  Here  is  an  epistle  from  somewhere  asking  as 
plainly  as  if  pen  and  ink  had  written  it,  "  Who  made 
me?"  Did  this  miracle  come  by  chance?  Nay,  out 
of  nothing,  nothing  comes.  Now  catch  another 
snow-flake  on  this  velvet  cushion  and  a  hundred  more 
and  a  million  more,  for  the  air  is  filled  with  them  ; 
and  out  of  these  we  will  construct  our  proposition. 
If  you  speak  of  chance  then  let  us  reason  under  the 
law  of  chances.  How  shall  we  get  our  first  term  ? 
By  makiftg  a  progression  of  products,  thus:  multiply 
your  first  flake  by  your  second,  the  second  by  the 
third,  and  so  on  while  the  snow-flakes  fall.  Multiply 
until  you  have  exhausted  the  last  flake  in  the  heavens, 
then  multiply  that  product  by  the  last  snow-storm 
and  so  on  until  you  have  exhausted  the  last  snow- 
flake  that  ever  fell  since  the  beginning  of  time.  What 
have  you  ?  A  line  of  figures  belting  the  globe  again 
and  again  and  again  like  parallels  of  latitude.  Now 
having  our  first  term  let  us  proceed  with  the  calcula- 
tion. It  is  a  simple  problem  in  proportion.  As  this 
Ibie  of  figures  is  to  one,  so  is  the  probability  of  a  supreme 
intelligence  to  the  hypothesis  of  chance  or  a  fortuitous 
concourse  of  atoms.  It  is  beginning  to  dawn  upon  us 
now  why  the  good  Book  pronounces  him  to  be  a 
"fool"  who  says  "There  is  no  God." 

II.  Our  next  golden  text  is  this,  "In  wisdom  hath 
he  made  them  all."  A  close  examination  of  these 
snow-flakes  under  the  glass  reveals  the  fact,  (i)  that 
every  one  is  perfect,  absolutely  perfect  ;  and  in  this 
the  snow-flake  differs  from  every  masterpiece  of  man. 
The  thing  we  make  may  approximate  nearer  and 
nearer  to  perfection,  but  never  reaches  it.     Put   the 


TREASURES    OF    THE    SNOW.  205 

finest  lace  under  the  glass  and  it  looks  like  a  fishing- 
net   of  jute;  its    fairy  figure   running  zigzag  like   a 
worm  fence.     On  the  other  hand  the  snow-flake  grows 
finer  and  finer  the  more  you  magnify  it.     Man's  best 
work    is  a  chronometer  which  will  vary   possibly  a 
second  in  a  twelvemonth.     Wonderful  !     But  if  God 
were  to  run  the   planetary   system   by   such   a  time- 
piece   chaos    would     have    ensued    long   ages   ago. 
The    sun    is    his    chronometer.       All    his    work     is 
perfect,  absolutely  perfect.-     Perfection  is  the  distin- 
guishing characteristic   of  a  divine  thing.     (2)  Still 
further  we  note  an  infinite  variety  in  these  flakes  of 
snow.     Des  Cartes  announced  that  he  had  discovered 
ninety-three  various  forms  or  patterns.     The  words 
had  scarcely  fallen  from  his  lips  before  another  de- 
clared that  he  had  found  nine  hundred.     Indeed  there 
is  no  limit  to  their  diversity  ;  it  is  fair  to  say  that  no 
two  of  them  are  precisely  alike,  just  as  no  two  leaves 
in  Vallombrosa  are  alike,  just  as  no  two  human  faces 
are    alike  on   all   the  earth.     This  infinite  variety  is 
also  a  distinguishing  feature    of  the   work  of  God. 
(3)  But   all  these  varied  forms  are  patterned   under 
a  common  law  and  under  that  law  are  uniform.    How 
shall  we  account  for  this  ?     Chance  ?    Or  has  science 
otherwise  explained  it  ?     "  Oh,  the  ancients  in  Job's 
time   knew    little  about  snow  or  any  other  natural 
phenomenon.     Many    things    have   been    discovered 
since  then.     All  this  is  explained."     Ah,  by  whom  ? 
What  is  snow  ?     "  Congealed  vapor  "     But   what  is 
vapor  and  how  congealed  ?     Go  on  with  your  expla- 
nation.    Whence  this  law  ?     Law  is  usually  supposed 
to  suggest  a  law-giver.     You  ask  us  to  believe  in  a 
law  like  this  with  all  its  marvellous  manifestations 
and  no  one  behind  it?     You   smile  at  our  faith  and 


2o6  TREASURES    OF    THE    SNOW, 

call  it  credulity  ;  but  here  is  a  burden  that  our  faith 
cannot  bear  ;  it  requires  a  greater  credulity  than  ours 
to  believe  that  all  this  merely  happened.  Go  back  as 
far  as  you  can  in  your  scientific  researches  and  you 
will  never  reach  the  ultimate.  You  come  to  a  curtain 
hanging  before  an  inner  chamber  ;  draw  it  and  you 
stand  in  the  Holiest  of  All. 

III.  Our  next  golden  text  is  this,  "Z<7,  here  is  the 
hiding  of  his  power''  How  feeble  seem  these  fallen 
flakes. 

"  Out  of  the  bosom  of  the  air, 

Out  of  the  cloud-folds  of  his  garment  shaken  ; 
Over  the  woodlands  wild  and  bare, 
Over  the  harvest  fields  forsaken. 
Silent  and  soft  and  slow 
Falleth  the  snow." 

Yet  here  is  God's  dynamite.  In  this  apparent  weak- 
ness is  the  hiding  of  his  strength.  The  flake  that 
falls  into  the  cleft  of  the  rock,  with  a  few  more  of  its 
feeble  kinsfolk,  shall  take  hold  of  the  roots  of  the 
everlasting  mountain  and  tear  them  asunder.  This 
is  God's  way  of  working.  He  builds  his  temple 
without  the  sound  of  hammer  or  of  axe.  The  sun- 
shine, the  atmosphere,  the  fallen  rain — these  are  his 
calm  potencies.  You  trample  the  snow-flakes  under 
foot,  the  children  play  with  them  ;  yet  they  have 
within  them  the  possibility  of  great  convulsion.  Here 
are  magazines  of  power.  Men  work  amid  demon- 
stration, the  shouting  of  ten  thousand  voices,  the 
booming  of  heavy  artillery.  God's  power  is  quiet, 
constant,  persistent,  infinite,  everywhere.  So  ubiqui- 
tous is  his  omnipotence  that  men  have  sometimes 
taken  Force  to  be  their  god.  When  it  was  desired  to 
blow  a  ledge  of  rocks  out  of  New  York  harbor  there 


TREASURES    OF    THE    SNOW.  207 

were  years  of  preparation  ;  digging  of  mines,  placing 
of  charges,  laying  of  fuses  ;  then  the  city  stood 
listening  ;  the  explosion,  the  water  spout,  and  it  was 
done.  God  rides  through  the  universe  in  his  chariot 
of  Almightiness  and  its  ponderous  wheels  move  as 
silently  as  the  waving  of  a  butterfly's  wings. 

IV.  Still  another  of  the  golden  texts  is,  '■''He  giveth 
his  snow  like  wool."  Rather  like  a  covering  of  wool  ; 
that  is  to  say,  a  coverlet.  The  figure  appeals  to  us  all. 
We  are  back  again  in  the  trundle-bed  and  the  dear 
mother  has  come  to  hear  us  say  our  prayer  and  then 
to  arrange  the  coverlet  and  tuck  us  in.  So  the  good 
God  cares  for  all  nature  ;  the  seeds  and  roots  ;  the 
burrowing  and  hibernating  creatures  ;  he  covers 
them  all  over  ;  giving  his  snow  like  wool.  O  infinite 
love  !  Shall  he  not  much  more  care  for  you,  O  ye  of 
little  faith  ?  These  snow-flakes  are  "  feathers  from 
the  wing  of  the  Almighty  protection."  He  cares  for 
us  along  the  journey  of  life  and  when  all  is  over  and 
we  lie  down  to  our  final  rest,  he  still  lays  his  coverlet 
above  us.  Out  in  the  graveyard  just  now,  as  far  as 
eye  can  see,  are  the  mounds  of  the  sleeping  dead. 
He  has  given  his  snow  like  wool.  So  they  abide  the 
coming  of  the  Lord's  great  day. 

V.  Another  of  the  golden  texts  is,  '■''His  raiment 
was  white  as  snow."  Here  are  three  visions  of  the 
glorious  One.  Daniel  saw  him,  when  all  the  earth 
powers  had  vanished,  approaching  in  a  chariot  of 
flame  to  take  the  seat  of  universal  empire,  while  ten 
thousand  times  ten  thousand  stood  before  him,  and 
lo!  "His  garment  was  white  as  snow."  The  chosen 
three  went  up  with  the  Only  Begotten  of  the  Father 
into  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  and  while  the 
cloud — "the  most  excellent  glory" — folded  them  in, 


2o8  TREASURES    OF    THE    SNOW. 

they  saw  him  changed  ;  his  face  shining  like  the 
sun  and  his  garments  "white  as  no  fuller  on  earth 
could  whiten  them."  The  aged  dreamer  in  Patmos 
saw  him  in  the  midst  of  the  golden  candlestick 
clothed  in  a  priestly  garment  down  to  his  feet  ;  in 
his  right  hand  seven  stars  ;  his  voice  as  the  sound 
of  many  waters  ;  his  countenance  as  the  sun  shineth 
in  his  strength  ;  and  his  head  and  his  hairs  were 
"white  as  snow!"  All  this  in  token  of  his  holiness. 
The  great  multitude  around  his  throne  are  ever 
praising  him  and  saying,  "  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord 
God  Almighty  !  "  Alas,  then,  what  is  to  become  of 
us,  for  we  are  as  an  unclean  thing?  "  Have  mercy 
upon  me,  O  God  !  "  cried  David  shamed  and  tortured 
by  his  accusing  conscience,  "  Have  mercy  upon  me 
according  unto  thy  loving  kindness,  and  according  to 
the  multitude  of  thy  tender  mercies  blot  out  my 
transgressions.  Wash  me  thoroughly  from  my  ini- 
quity and  cleanse  me  from  my  sin  ;  for  I  acknow- 
ledge my  transgressions  and  my  sin  is  ever  before 
me.  Purge  me  with  hyssop  and  I  shall  be  clean  ; 
wash  me  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow."  Is  there 
an  answer  to  that  prayer  ?  Can  the  sin-defiled  soul 
be  washed  and  made  whiter  than  snow  ?     Aye  ! 

VI.  For  here  is  another  of  the  golden  texts,  '^Come 
now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord :  though 
your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow; 
ihotigh  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool.'' 
These  falling  flakes  are  messengers  from  the  City  of 
the  Great  King  ;  each  of  them  bringing  a  white  flag 
of  truce  with  overtures  of  peace. 

What  is  the  blackest  thing  in  aL  tne  world  ?  Not 
jet,  nor  ebony  ;  not  the  raven's  plume,  nor  the  pupil 
of  an   Ethiop's  eye.     The  blackest    thing  in  all   the 


TREASURES    OF    THE    SNOW  209 

world  is  said  to  be  the  blight  at  the  heart  of  a  flower 
when  it  is  just  stricken  with  death.  So  the  blackest 
thing  in  the  moral  universe  is  sin  at  the  centre  of  a 
soul,  spreading  corruption  through  the  whole  nature 
of  man. 

What  is  the  reddest  thing  in  the  world  ?  Not  the 
glow  of  the  sunrise  or  of  the  sunset ;  not  the  heart 
of  a  ruby.  The  reddest  thing  in  the  world  is  the 
stream  that  flows  from  the  fountain  of  life.  Blood  ; 
"the  life  is  in  the  blood."  The  most  vivid  of  all 
tragedies  is  that  of  Calvary.  In  all  the  moral  uni- 
verse there  is  naught  that  so  touches  the  heart  of  the 
race. 

What  is  the  whitest  thing  in  the  world  ?  Not 
ivory,  nor  molten  silver,  nor  alabaster;  not  a  lily 
painted  on  a  spotless  wall.  The  whitest  thing  in  the 
world  is  the  driven  snow,  for  this  is  not  superficial, 
but  whiteness  through  and  through.  In  all  the 
moral  universe  there  is  nothing  so  glorious  as  the 
whiteness  of  holiness  ;  the  fine  linen,  clean  and 
white,  which  is  the  righteousness  of  saints. 

What  is  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world  ?  Love  ! 
Aye.  Not  our  love  to  God,  but  God's  love  to  us 
manifest  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  love  that  holds  the 
hyssop-branch  of  our  frail  faith  and  with  it  sprinkles 
the  blood  upon  the  soul  defiled  with  the  blackness  of 
sin,  until  it  becomes  as  white  as  the  driven  snow. 
This  is  the  marvellous  alchemy  of  grace.  There  is 
forgiveness  with  God. 

VII.  And  yet  another  of  tne  golden  texts,  ''JVhen 
the  Almighty  scattered  kings  in  it,  it  was  as  when  it 
snoweth  in  Salmon."  Here  is  the  picture  :  a  mountain- 
side swept  bare  by  the  wind,  the  snow  driven  hither 
and    thither    upon    it.     What  does  it  mean  ?     These 


2IO  TREASURES    OF    THE    SNOW. 

are  not  drifting  masses  of  snow;  these  are  the  bones 
of  the  slain,  bleached  in  the  sun  ;  these  are  shields 
of  the  mighty;  these  are  ermine  cloaks,  royal  mantles 
cast  away  in  flight.  A  mighty  rout !  God's  enemies 
have  been  put  to  shame.  The  great  squadron  has 
come  forth  riding  on  white  horses  and  clothed  in 
white  linen,  with  one  at  their  head  arrayed  in  a 
garment  dipped  in  blood — one  who  trod  the  wine- 
press alone  in  their  behalf.  Armageddon  is  over. 
There  are  shouts  of  victory  in  the  distance.  Babylon 
is  fallen  !  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name  !  And 
here  on  Salmon  naught  but  the  drifting  snow. 

Thanks  be  to  God  for  this  assurance  of  the  glori- 
ous outcome.  His  Word  is  doing  its  work  :  ''''His 
word  shall  not  return  utito  him  void,  but  shall  be  like  the 
snow  which  cometh  down  from  heaven  ;  it  shall  ac- 
complish that  which  he  doth  please  and  prosper  in 
the  thing  whereto  he  sends  it."  In  God's  economy 
all  things  have  their  uses.  Every  snow-flake  is  under 
commission.  So  am  I  ;  so  are  you.  God  help  us  to 
praise  him  in  an  implicit  obedience  like  that  of  the 
forces  of  nature  of  which  it  is  written  :  "  Praise  ye 
the  Lord.  Praise  him  from  the  heavens.  Praise 
him  from  the  earth.  Ye  monsters  and  all  deeps  ;  ye 
fire  and  hail  ;  snow  and  vapor;  stormy  wind  fulfilling 
his  word  !  " 


WHAT  IS  RELIGION? 

"Keep  yourselves  in  the  lore  of  God."— Jude  21. 

The  man  who  wrote  this  brief  epistle  is  almost 
unknown  to  us.  (i)  He  was  a  half-brother  of 
Jesus  and  had  probably,  like  him,  learned  the  trade 
of  a  carpenter.  (2)  He  was  called  also  Thaddceus 
and  Lebbaeus,  perhaps  to  distinguish  him  from  that 
other  Jude  who,  by  betraying  his  Lord,  had  made  the 
name  forever  infamous.  (3)  But  one  fact  is  narrated 
of  him  in  Scripture.  In  our  Lord's  last  interview  with 
his  disciples  the  night  before  his  crucifixion,  he  had 
said,  "I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless  ;  I  will  come 
to  you  and  will  manifest  myself  unto  you,"  and  Judas, 
not  Iscariot,  saith  unto  him,  "Lord,  how  is  it  that 
thou  wilt  manifest  thyself  unto  us  and  not  unto  the 
world  ? "  and  Jesus  answered  and  said,  "  If  a  man  love 
me,  he  will  keep  my  words  and  my  Father  will  love 
him  and  we  will  come  unto  him  and  make  our  abode 
with  him."  (4)  He  was  a  plain  man  ;  uneducated  in 
the  schools  and  unfamiliar  with  the  arts  of  the 
rhetorician,  but  possessed  of  admirable  common  sense 
— the  rarest  of  gifts.  He  wastes  no  words,  rounds  no 
periods,  does  not  trouble  himself  about  profundities  or 
sublimities,  but  comes  straight  to  the  point.  (5)  He 
was  loyal  to  "the  truth  once  delivered  to  the  saints," 
and  by  the  same  token  he  was  a  sincere    hater  of 

(211) 


212  WHAT    IS    RELIGION.'' 

schism  and  heresy.  We  may  be  certain  he  would  not 
have  written  this  epistle — called  catholic,  because 
addressed  to  the  universal  Church — unless  circum- 
stances had  demanded  it.  The  Gnostics  and  Ebionites 
and  Antinomians  were  carrying  things  with  a  high 
hand.  Some  one  must  rebuke  them.  Some  one  must 
admonish  the  Church  to  hold  fast  the  form  of  sound 
words.  If  James,  the  pastor  of  the  Jerusalem  Church, 
had  been  here,  he  would  have  done  it  most  effectively; 
but  James  had  been  slain  with  the  sword.  If  Peter 
had  been  here,  he  would  have  sent  forth  a  ringing 
manifesto  ;  but  alas  !  he  too  had  suffered  martyrdom. 
Or  if  John  were  here  ;  but  John  was  an  exile  on  a  far 
off  island  in  the  ^Egean  Sea.  So  Jude  must  write. 
The  fingers  that  were  cramped  by  manual  toil  are 
adjusted  to  the  stylus ;  he  writes  briefly,  clearly, 
without  a  wasted  word.  Here  is  the  sum  and  sub- 
stance of  his  letter  :  Beloved,  it  was  needful  for  me  to 
write  unto  you,  and  exhort  you  that  ye  should  earnestly 
contend  for  the  faith  tvhich  was  once  delivered  unto  the 
saints.  For  tliere  are  certain  men  crept  in  unawares,  who 
turn  the  grace  of  our  God  into  lasciviousness,  arid  deny  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Woe  unto  the?n  I  for  they  have  gone 
in  the  way  of  Cain,  and  ran  greedily  after  the  error  of 
Balaam,  and  perished  in  the  gainsaying  of  Korah.  These 
are  spots  in  your  feasts  of  charity,  when  they  feast  7uith 
you,  feeding  themselves  without  fear :  clouds  they  are 
7vithout  water,  carried  about  of  winds  ;  trees  whose  fruit 
withereth,  without  fruit,  twice  dead,  plucked  up  by  the 
roots  J  raging  waves  of  the  sea,  foaming  out  their  own 
shame  j  wandering  stars,  to  ivhom  is  reserved  the  blackness 
of  darkness  forever.  But  ye,  beloved,  building  up  yourselves 
on  your  most  holy  faith,  praying  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  keep 
yourselves  in  the  love  of  God. 


WHAT    IS    RELIGION?  213 

We  have  here  the  core  of  the  whole  matter.  It  is 
not  easy  to  frame  a  definition  of  religion,  but  this 
writer  succeeds  in  doing  it.  We  are  always  in  danger 
of  forming  partial  views  of  a  great  subject.  The  Pil- 
grim Fathers,  who  landed  on  the  coast  of  New  Eng- 
land, said,  "  Here  is  a  bleak  and  barren  land  ;  a  land 
of  fierce  storms  and  bitter  winters,  but  not  unsuitable 
to  men  in  search  of  freedom  to  worship  God."  The 
Cavaliers,  who  colonized  tidewater  Virginia,  said, 
"  Here  is  a  temperate  clime  ;  warm  enough  and  cool 
enough  for  such  as  do  not  object  to  working  by 
proxy  for  their  living."  Ponce  de  Leon  and  his  men, 
touching  on  the  southern  coast,  said,  "  Hejre  is  the 
country  of  sunshine,  Florida,  the  land  of  flowers. 
Here  is  the  spot  for  a  dole e  far  niente  life."  The  Pil- 
grims, the  Cavaliers  and  the  Spaniards  all  were  right 
and  all  were  wrong.  America  is  not  to  be  described 
by  a  scrutiny  of  three  harbors  ;  you  must  circumnavi- 
gate the  continent.  So  of  every  truth.  So  of  religion 
itself.  It  is  a  circle  and  we  are  ever  in  danger  of  be- 
ing satisfied  with  a  segment  of  it.  So  it  has  come 
about  that  men,  catching  a  glimpse  of  the  great  ver- 
ity, have  cried,  "  We  have  found  it !  "  And  so  it  has 
happened  that  each  denomination  of  believers,  know- 
ing somewhat  of  the  truth,  have  been  disposed  to  say, 
"The  temple  of  the  Lord  are  we." 

Let  us  note  some  of  the  errors  which  have  been 
made  in  undertaking  to  define  religion  ;  due  in  every 
case  to  a  partial  and  fragmentary  view  of  truth. 

First  mistake: — religion  is  dogma.  A  truth  becomes 
dogma  to  any  mind  the  moment  it  is  apprehended  as 
proven  beyond  peradventure.  A  creed  is  a  system  of 
such  truths.  The  malady  of  our  age  is  credo-phohi^. 
It   is    the  fashion  to  say  that  creed    is  a   matter  of 


214  WHAT    IS    RELIGION? 

slight  importance  so  long  as  we  live  well.  But  be- 
fore we  fall  in  with  that  assertion  let  us  be  sure  that 

we  mean  it. The  grocer  whom  you  patronize  must 

have  a  creed  ;  he  must  believe  that  there  are  sixteen 
ounces  to  the  pound,  that  sand  is  not  sugar,  that  chic- 
ory is  not  coffee,  and  that  honesty  is  the  best  policy. 
If  he  have  not  a  code  of  principles — that  is  to  say,  a 
creed  made  up  of  such  simple  truths — you  will   not 

patronize  him. You  will  not  cast  your  vote  for  a 

candidate  who  has  not  a  creed  ;  he  must  believe  in 
an  honest  ballot,  a  sound  currency,  a  just  system  of 
tariff,  a  wise  adjustment  of  the  rights  of  the  individual 
states  to  those  of  the  general  government,  and  that 
vox popiili  is  the  nearest  possible  approach  in  political 
matters  to  vox  Dei.  If  he  be  not  prepared  to  say  that 
he  believes  in  these  and  similar  truths,  you  set  him 
down  as  a  demagogue  ;  for  the  only  difference  be- 
tween a  statesman  and  a  demagogue  is  that  one  be- 
lieves something  and  the  other  is  whatever  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  hour  may  make  him. If  you  wish 

to  cross  the  ocean,  you  will  take  ship  with  a  captain 
who  has  a  creed;  who  believes  in  sun  and  quadrant, 
in  compass  and  chart;  who  believes  that  it  is  better 
for  you  to  be  over  the  water  than  under  it;  who  be- 
lieves that  two  ships  cannot  sail  in  opposite  directions 
over  precisely  the  same  course  without  getting  into 
trouble.  So  in  any  department  of  common  life,  a 
man  is  untrustworthy  unless  he  have  a  creed  ;  that  is, 
unless  he  can  say.  Credo,  I  believe  in  something. 
Why  then  should  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  dealing  in 
the  great  matters  that  touch  our  eternal  destiny,  be 
of  a  less  positive  character  ?  He  surely  should  be 
able  to  lay  his  hand  upon  the  great  fundamentals  of 
life  and  immortality  and  say  without  a  doubt  or  mis- 


WHAT    IS    RELIGION  ? 


215 


giving,  "I  believe  them."  So,  indeed,  should  any 
man  who  is  travelling  on  to  eternity.  He  should 
satisfy  himself  at  once  and  beyond  misgiving  of  the 
truth  or  falsity  of  the  great  propositions  that  centre 
in  God.  But  a  creed  is  not  the  sum  total  of  religion  ; 
it  is  a  segment  of  the  circle,  but  it  is  not  the  circle. 
We  cannot  be  religious  without  a  creed,  but  a  creed 
alone  will  not  make  us  so. 

Second  mistake  : — religion  is  a  life  ,  that  is  to  say,  it 
is  a  creed  crystallized,  formulated,  vivified  in  good 
works.  There  is  a  measure  of  truth  in  this  state- 
ment; for  faith  without  works  is  dead.  The  most  of  us 
can  recall  through  the  years  the  figure  of  some  vener- 
able deacon  who  w'as  scrupulous  in  his  orthodoxy, 
irreproachable  in  his  outward  life,  keeping  the  law, 
paying  his  honest  debts,  constant  in  his  attendance 
on  the  sanctuary,  ever  ready  to  open  the  devotional 
meeting  with  prayer  ;  whose  name  was,  nevertheless, 
a  reproach  because  he  seemed  to  have  no  bowels  of 
compassion.  The  sufferings  of  the  poor  made  no 
appeal  to  him  ;  in  vain  was  his  aid  solicited  for  the 
improvement  of  the  general  weal.  Let  others  feed 
the  hungry  and  clothe  the  naked  ;  let  others  endow 
colleges  and  asylums  ;  let  others  attend  to  public 
enterprises  ;  it  was  enough  for  him  to  attend  to  his 
own  personal  character.  He  was  an  upright  man, 
indeed,  but  a  man  without  a  life.  God  be  praised 
that  in  these  days  we  are  discussing  sociological 
problems  ;  asking  how  we  may  make  the  world 
better  and  men's  lives  sweeter  and  happier.  Abu- 
ben- Adhem  has  come  to  the  front,  saying,  'Write  me 
as  one  who  loves  his  fellow-men."  But  good  works 
are  not  all.  They  do  not  make  a  complete  definition 
of  religion  ;  "  for  by  the  deeds  of  the  law   shall  no 


2l6  WHAT    IS    RELIGION? 

flesh  be  justified."  The  hand  like  the  head  is  a  neces- 
sary part  of  the  body,  but  not  the  whole  of  it  ;  nor 
indeed  the  vital  centre  of  it. 

Third  mistake  : — religion  is  a  cult,  or  a  particular 
form  of  worship.  Rites  and  ceremonies  are  not  to  be 
belittled.  The  Church  is  of  divine  appointment. 
Its  two  sacraments,  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper, 
were  mstituted  by  Christ  himself.  No  man  who 
loves  the  bridegroom  will  disparage  or  ignore  the 
bride  ;  our  Lord  himself  honored  the  ritual  of 
the  house  of  God.  But  there  is  an  immense  differ- 
ence between  Churchianity  and  Christianity.  The 
best  churchmen  of  our  Saviour's  day  were  the  Phari- 
sees, whose  name  was  derived  from  a  word  signifying 
to  separate,  because  they  had  separated  themselves 
from  their  fellows  by  a  claim  of  peculiar  sanctity. 
What  will  you  have  ?  Devotion .?  Behold  them 
making  long  prayers  at  the  corners  of  the  streets. 
Fasting.?  Lo,  they  fast  twice  every  week,  though  the 
law  requires  but  a  single  fast  in  the  year,  to  wit,  on 
the  great  Day  of  Atonement.  Beneficence  ?  They 
pay  tithes  of  all  that  they  get — far  beyond  the  legal 
requirement — tithes  of  the  garden  herbs,  mint,  anise, 
and  cummin.  Devotion  to  the  Scriptures .?  See  their 
broad  phylacteries  and  the  frontlets  between  their 
eyes  inscribed  with  the  sacred  legend,  "  Hear,  O 
Israel,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord."  And  yet  the 
severest  denunciation  pronounced  by  our  Lord  was 
against  these  high  churchmen  :  "  Woe  unto  you, 
Pharisees,  hypocrites,  how  shall  ye  escape  the  dam- 
nation of  hell  !  "  Of  these  men  he  said  to  his 
disciples,  "  Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed 
theirs,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  the  kingdom  of  God." 
Let  us  not,  therefore,  depend  upon  our  church  mem- 


WHAT    IS    RELIGION?  217 

bership  alone.  A  man  may  be  a  member  of  the 
church  in  good  and  regular  standing  and  still  have 
no  place  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life. 

Fourth  mistake  : — religion  is  a  sentime7it.  I  woula  to 
God  that  we  were  all  more  tender  of  heart,  more 
sensitive  and  quick  to  noble  thought  and  purpose. 
The  great  truths  are  of  such  importance  that  our 
feelings  should  be  profoundly  stirred  by  them. 
"God!"  "Calvary!"  "  The  Judgment!  "  "Heaven!" 
"  Hell  !  "  There  are  worlds  of  meaning  in  these 
simple  words  ;  the  very  mention  of  each  should  thrill 
us  instantly  through  and  through.  But  while  feeling 
is  an  important  factor  in  religion,  it  must  not  be 
made  to  overshadow  all.  I  remember  a  young  man 
whose  custom  was,  with  pious  regularity,  to  present 
himself  at  the  anxious  seat  with  the  opening  of  "  the 
protracted  services "  of  each  winter.  It  occurred 
always  during  the  singing  of  the  hymn, 

"Come  to  the  Lord  and  seek  salvation, 
Sound  the  praise  of  his  dear  name  ; 
Glory,  honor  and  redemption, 

Christ  the  Lord  has  come  to  reign  !  " 

It  is  thirty  years  since  he  began  and  I  am  informed 
he  is  still  doing  it  ;  taking  three  months  annually  for 
revival  and  nine  months  for  falling  from  grace. 
Religion  is  not  chills  and  fever,  but  a  wholesome 
steadfast  life.  It  is  not  like  a  tress  of  purple  alga 
torn  asunder  and  swept  by  every  wave  and  eddy,  but 
a  rock  in  mid  ocean  beaten  in  vain  by  storm  and 
tempest.  It  is  not  sentiment  but  conviction.  There 
is  one  thing  better  than  feeling  ;  that  is  duty.  Any 
man  can  go  into  battle  when  his  blood  runs  hot  in 
the  excitement  of  the  hour,  but  to  go  down  to 
Balaklava  with  the  Light  Brigade  "into  the  jaws  of 


2l8  WHAT    IS    RELIGION? 

hell "  in  cold  blood  to  obey  a  command,  that  is  sublime. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  month  when  our  bills  come 
in,  we  do  not  ask  whether  or  no  we  feel  the  obliga- 
tion, but  proceed  to  pay  them  like  honest  men.  So 
let  us  attend  to  the  affairs  of  our  Christian  life,  pray- 
ing God  to  keep  our  hearts  warm  and  eager  and  full 
of  the  enthusiasm  of  truth  and  righteousness,  but 
resolute,  with  or  without  feeling,  to  do  what  duty 
shall  require. 

Now  then,  having  canvassed  some  of  the  partial 
views  of  religion,  leL  us  approach  its  full  definition  in 
this  injunction,  ^^ Keep  yourselves  in  the  love  of  God.''  It 
is  written  that  a  certain  lawyer  came  to  Jesus  and 
said,  "Good  Rabbi,  what  is  the  first  and  greatest 
commandment  ?  "  And  Jesus  answered,  "  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart  and  with  all 
thy  mind  and  with  all  thy  strength.  This  is  the  first 
and  great  commandment."  If  so,  then  all  the  energies 
of  an  earnest  life  should  be  directed  toward  two 
things  ;  to  enter  into  this  love  and  to  abide  in  it. 

But  how?  Can  I  force  myself  to  love  God  ?  the 
affections  do  not  obey  the  command  of  the  will.  I 
cannot  say,  "  I  will  love,"  as  I  say,  "I  will  smite  with 
my  hand,  '  or,  "I  will  stamp  with  my  foot."  Never- 
theless the  responsibility  of  loving  God  is  upon  me 
and  my  eternal  life  depends  upon  it.  How  do  we 
awaken  our  emotions  ?  Not  indeed  by  crying, 
"Awake  !  "  but  by  presenting  to  the  mind  the  objects 
which  arouse  these  emotions.  I  stimulate  my 
sense  of  duty  not  by  an  effort  of  the  will,  but  by 
gazing  on  the  landscape — blue  sky  and  verdant  forest 
and  silver  river, — moving  me  to  cry,  "How  wonder- 
ful !  "  How  do  I  stimulate  my  sense  of  indignation  ? 
By  pondering  on  the  unspeakable  Turk,  his  tyrannies 


WHAT    IS   RELIGION  ? 


219 


and  atrocities,  until  the  fires  flame  within  me.  How  do 
I  arouse  my  sense  of  compassion  ?  Not  by  saying, 
"Now  I  will  pity,"  but  by  climbing  up  the  rickety 
stairways  into  the  attics  where  the  poor  are  enduring 
the  pangs  of  hunger  and  the  sick  are  tossing  upon 
beds  of  languishing.  "The  eye  affecteth  the  heart." 
So  do  I  enkindle  my  love  toward  God  ;  by  con- 
templating him.  But  where  shall  I  behold  God? 
In  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  to  this  very  end 
that  he  has  made  himself  manifest  in  the  flesh,  that 
we  might  behold  him  and  love  him.  "  How  sayest 
thou, '  Show  us  the  Father  '  ?  Believest  thou  not  that  I 
am  in  the  Father  and  the  Father  in  me  ?"  Go  look 
on  Jesus  in  the  carpenter  shop  entering  into  all  the 
pain  and  weariness  of  common  toil,  with  chips  and 
shavings  around  his  feet,  an  honest  workman.  This  is 
God.  Go  hear  him  as  he  preaches  in  Solomon's 
Porch  the  wonderful  truths  of  the  kingdom,  touching 
with  a  bold  hand,  as  never  did  human  philosopher, 
all  the  great  problems  that  reach  out  into  the  endless 
life,  making  our  pathway  as  clear  as  day.  This  is 
God.  Go  follow  him  in  the  thoroughfares ;  see 
along  the  way  the  couches  whereon  the  sick  are  lying 
and  mark  how  he  heals  them — opening  the  blind 
eyes,  wiping  away  the  leper's  spots  and  making  the 
deserts  of  life  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose.  This 
is  God.  Go  up  to  Calvary  and  see  him  dying  there, 
bearing  the  world's  sin  upon  his  breaking  heart. 
See  the  deep  darkness  closing  in  around  him  and  hark 
to  his  cry,  as  bearing  our  penalty  he  descends  into 
hell  for  us,  "  My  God  !  my  God  !  Why  hast  thou  for- 
saken me  ?  "  Wounded  for  our  transgressions,  bruised 
for  our  iniquities,  that  by  his  stripes  we  might  be 
healed.     This  is  God.     Look  yonder  where  he  stands 


220  WHAT    IS    RELIGION  ? 

on  the  right  hand  of  the  infinite  Majesty,  lifting  his 
pierced  hands  in  our  behalf  ;  for  he  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  for  us.     This  is  God. 

O  friends  !  the  trouble  is,  the  world  is  too  much 
with  us.  We  dwell  amid  its  cares  and  pleasures  and 
rarely  turn  aside  to  look  toward  the  high  place  where 
he  dwelleth.  How  can  we  complain  of  lack  of  love, 
if  we  neglect  to  look  upon  his  face  ;  if  we  care  not  to 
see  the  glory  of  the  Infinite  as  it  is  revealed  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ  ? 

Behold  the  beginning  and  the  midst  and  the  end 
of  the  whole  matter :  Love  God.  All  else  must 
follow.  It  is  like  the  commerce  that  is  constantly 
going  on  between  the  sea  and  clouds  ;  the  ascending 
vapors  and  the  descending  dews  and  rains  are  all 
obedient  to  the  law  of  gravity.  It  fills  the  fountain 
to  slake  the  traveller's  thirst  ;  it  waters  the  field  to 
satisfy  the  world's  hunger  ;  it  fills  the  rivers  to  float 
the  ships  of  the  nations.  In  like  manner  all  noble 
purposes  and  all  holy  aspirations  are  under  the  do- 
minion of  love  toward  God.  If  we  love  him,  our 
creed  will  follow  ;  for  we  shall  believe  whatever  he 
says.  If  we  love  him,  we  shall  not  fall  short  of  the 
good  works  of  a  useful  life  ;  for  we  shall  tread 
closely  in  the  footsteps  of  him  who  went  about  doing 
good.  If  we  love  him,  we  shall  honor  his  church  ; 
because  the  church  is  the  bride  of  God.  If  we  love 
him,  our  hearts  will  thrill  in  response  to  all  the  great 
verities  which  centre  in  him. 

The  word  of  Jesus  addressed  to  his  wayward 
friend,  "Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me?" 
had  in  it  all  the  questions  of  all  the  catechisms  of 
the  universal  church.  And  the  thrice-given  answer 
of  Peter,  "  Yea,  Lord,  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee," 


WHAT    IS    RELIGION  ?  221 

had  in  it  all  true  systems  of  theology  from  the  begin- 
ning until  now.  It's  love  that  makes  the  world  go 
round  ;  the  love  of  good  men  for  the  great  Father,  out 
of  which  proceeds  the  love  of  the  universal  brother- 
hood, has  in  it  the  potency  of  all  faith  and  character. 
If  we  apprehend  this,  we  shall  come  to  know  finally 
what  this  means,  "  Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  love  ; 
but  the  greatest  of  these  is  love."  And  that  other 
saying  also,  "  Love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law." 


WOMAN  AND  THE  SABBATH.* 

"And  Deborah  said  unto  -Barak,  Up;  for  this  is  the  day  in  which  the  Lord 
hath  delivered  Sisera  into  thine  hand  :  is  not  the  Lord  gone  out  before 
thee?" — Judges  iv.  14. 

The  importance  of  the  Fourth  Commandment  is 
manifest  in  its  opening  word,  "  Remember."  This 
suggests  the  danger  of  forgetting.  It  is  a  curious 
fact,  that  because  of  the  perverseness  of  human  nature, 
matters  of  the  supremest  moment  are  most  likely  to 
escape  our  thought.  A  peasant  in  the  Vale  of  Cha- 
mounix  will  remember  when  to  milk  his  cows  and 
set  his  curds  more  easily  than  when  to  say  his  pater- 
nosters ;  his  eyes  are  more  constantly  fixed  on  his 
dairy  than  on  the  everlasting  mountains  which  encir- 
cle him. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  two  most  important  facts 
in  our  religion  are  emphasized  by  "  signs."  (i)  The 
greatest  of  doctrinal  truths  is  the  vicarious  death  of 
Christ,  and  this  is  kept  before  the  mind  of  the  univer- 
sal Church  by  the  Eucharist;  "  Do  this,"  said  Jesus, 
"in  remembrance  of  me."  (2)  The  greatest  of  ethical 
facts  is  the  duty  of  Sabbath  observance.  No  institu- 
tion in  the  world  is  more  important  to  the  welfare  of 
the  race.  It  rests  upon  a  double  sanction:  God's 
cessation  from  work  at  the  close  of  creation — as  it  is 

*  This  sermon  was  delivered,  by  request,  at  the  first  public  meeting  of  the 
Woman's  National  Sabbath  Alliance. 

(222) 


WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH.  223 

written,  ^'For  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and 
earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the 
seventh  day:  wherefore^  the  Lord  blessed  the  sabbath 
day  and  hallowed  it  "  ; — and  on  the  divine  rest  at  the 
close  of  the  great  redemptive  work  when  Jesus  in  his 
resurrection  triumphed  over  death  and"  hell.  The 
Fourth  Commandment  is  repeatedly  called  a  "  sign  "; 
that  is  to  say,  the  token  of  a  covenant  which  God 
made  with  his  people.  In  this  covenant  he  has  dis- 
tinctly said  that  he  will  overthrow  the  nation  which 
refuses  to  keep  the  Holy  Day,  and  has  promised,  per 
contra.  "If  thou  turn  away  thy  foot  from  the  Sab- 
bath, from  doing  thy  pleasure  on  my  holy  day;  and 
call  the  Sabbath  a  delight,  the  holy  of  the  Lord,  hon- 
ourable ;  and  shalt  honour  him,  not  doing  thine  own 
ways,  nor  finding  thine  own  pleasure,  nor  speaking 
thine  own  words:  then  shalt  thou  delight  thyself  in 
the  Lord;  and  I  will  cause  thee  to  ride  upon  the  high 
places  of  the  earth." 

The  age  through  which  we  are  passing  is  charac- 
terized by  an  almost  universal  contempt  for  the  past. 
"  Ring  out  the  old,  ring  in  the  new."  It  is  enough  to 
say  of  anything  that  it  is  "traditional,"  handed  down 
through  the  years,  in  order  to  expose  it  to  derision. 
Everybody  knows  what  is  held  in  certain  quarters  as 
to  the  traditional  view  of  the  inspiration  of  Scrip- 
ture; that  view  being  that  the  Scripture  is  the  inerrant 
Word  of  God.  We  hear  much  also  in  contemptuous 
vein  of  the  traditional  view  of  the  Atonement;  that 
view  being  that  Jesus  took  our  sins  in  his  own  body 
on  the  tree,  bearing  the  shame,  the  bondage  and  the 
penalty  in  such  a  vicarious  manner  that  by  his  stripes 
we  are  healed. 

So   as    to    the    traditional   view   of    Sabbath    ob- 


224  WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH. 

servance.  The  Puritan  Sabbath  !  How  the  average 
man  derides  it,  seeing  only  the  dark  and  melancholy- 
side  of  a  character  that  was  braced  against  the 
storms  of  the  fiercest  tyranny  and  persecution  the 
world  ever  knew.  No  men  are  perfect,  and  surely  the 
Puritans  were  not  ;  but  even  in  the  manner  of  their 
keeping  of  the  Sabbath  there  is  not  a  little  that  we 
might  copy  with  advantage:  the  family  altar,  the 
sweet  psalmody,- the  uplifted  faces  of  quaint  chil- 
dren who  hearkened  with  a  simple,  reverent  faith 
to  the  heroic  tales  of  Scripture,  the  holy  hours  of 
meditation  and  communion  with  the  Most  High.  Is 
it  not  just  possible  that  in  our  reaction  from  those 
over-strenuous  days,  we  are  getting  too  far  the 
other  way  ?  In  any  case  it  will  do  us  no  harm 
to  pause  and  reflect.  We  cannot  be  too  careful  as  to 
a  matter  so  closely  touching  our  spiritual  welfare  and 
destiny.  We  cannot  afford  to  make  any  mistake  in 
our  observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  which  God  asserts 
his  property  right,  saying,  "The  seventh  day  is  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God." 

I  pause  here  to  pay  a  momentary  tribute  to  the 
American  Sabbath  Union.  It  has  never  obtruded 
itself  upon  the  public  gaze,  but  in  all  movements, 
looking  toward  the  enactment  and  enforcement  of 
salutary  laws  as  well  as  in  the  creating  and  fos- 
tering of  a  just  public  sentiment,  it  has  done  valiant 
service.  A  step  forward  is  now  proposed.  The  wo- 
men of  our  country  are  to  unite  in  an  organized  effort 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Lord's  Day.  It  is  a  move- 
ment of  vast  promise.  We  may  not,  perhaps,  admit 
that  Adam  Clarke  found  the  precise  mathematical 
ratio  when  he  said,  "  One  woman  is  worth  seven  and 
one-half  men  "  ;  but  sure  it  is  that  women  can   do 


WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH.  22t; 

some  things  better  than  men  and  can  in  all  things 
lend  valuable  aid  and  comfort. 

It  was  a  great  day  for  Israel  when  Deborah  left  the 
shadow  of  the  palrr-tree,  where  she  sat  in  judgment, 
and  went  northward  to  summon  Barak  to  the  defence 
of  his  people.  For  twenty  weary  years,  Jabin,  the 
king  of  Canaan,  had  oppressed  them.  He  had  nine 
hundred  chariots  of  iron.  The  name  of  Sisera,  his 
commander-in-chief,  was  one  to  be  spoken  in  a 
whisper, — a  brave,  bloody  man.  The  courage  of  the 
Israelites  had  all  oozed  out.  Then  up  rose  Deborah, 
a  mother  in  Israel.  The  battle  was  fought  in  the 
plain  of  Esdraelon.  The  song  was  sung  upon  the 
heights  :  "  The  stars  in  their  courses  fought  against 
Sisera.  The  river  Kishon  swept  them  away,  that 
ancient  river,  the  river  Kishon.  O  my  soul,  thou  hast 
trodden  down  strength!"  Let  us  hope  and  pray  that 
the  rallying  of  the  women  of  the  Church  in  behalf  of 
Sabbath  observance  may  be  followed  by  a  like  tri- 
umphant song. 

How  can  the  American  woman  make  her  power 
felt  in  arresting  the  prevalent  sins  of  Sabbath 
desecration  and  promoting  the  observance  of  that 
Holy  Day  ? 

I.  By  her  influence  at  home.  Here  is  woman's  coign 
of  vantage.  "The  hand  that  rocks  the  cradle,  rules  the 
world."  If  there  is  a  due  regard  for  the  Sabbath  in 
domestic  life,  the  rest  will  take  care  of  itself.  For 
home  is  the  fountain  from  which  flow  forth  all  the 
streams  of  social  and  civil  life. 

(i)  It  is  for  woman  to  say  whether  there  shall  be 
a  family  altar  or  not.  I  have  rarely  stood  upon  a 
more  impressive  spot  than  just  inside  the  threshold 
of  the  straw-thatched  cottage  at  AUoway,  for  it  was 


226  WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH. 

here  in  the  simple  beauty  of  a  peasant's  home  that 
Robert  Burns  received  the  inspiration  of  "The  Cot- 
ter's Saturday  Night." 

"  The  cheerful  supper  done,  wi'  serious  face 

They  round  the  ingle  form  a  circle  wide  ; 
The  sire  turns  o'er,  wi'  patriarchal  grace. 

The  big  ha'  Bible,  ance  his  father's  pride. 
They  chant  their  artless  notes  in  simple  guise  ; 

They  tunetheir  hearts,  by  far  the  noblest  aim  : 
Perhaps  Dundee's  wild  warbling  measures  rise, 

Or  plaintive  Martyrs,  worthy  of  the  name. 

"  Then  kneeling  down,  to  Heaven's  eternal  King, 

The  saint,  the  father,  and  the  husband  prays  : 
Hope  '  springs  exulting  on  triumphant  wing,' 

That  thus  they  all  shall  meet  in  future  days  : 
There  ever  bask  in  uncreated  rays. 

No  more  to  sigh,  or  shed  the  bitter  tear, 
Together  hymning  their  Creator's  praise, 

In  such  society,  yet  still  more  dear. 
Where  circling  time  moves  round  in  an  eternal  sphere. 

"  From  scenes  like  these  old  Scotia's  grandeur  springs, 
That  makes  her  loved  at  home,  revered  abroad  : 
Princes  and  lords  are  but  the  breath  of  kings, 
An  honest  man's  the  noblest  work  of  God." 

(2)  It  is  for  women  to  say  whether  secular  work 
shall  be  suspended  in  the  home-life  or  not.  It  is 
worth  while  to  remember  the  emphasis  which  is  put 
upon  this  matter  in  the  Fourth  Commandment:  "In 
it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor 
thy  daughter,  thy  man  servant,  nor  thy  maid  ser- 
vant, nor  thy  cattle,  nor  the  stranger  that  is  within 
thy  gates."  What  is  this  ?  Nor  thy  maid  servant.  Do 
our  Christian  women  sometimes  forget  that  God  has 
laid  this  injunction  upon  them  ?  No  work  in  the  home 
on  the  Sabbath  save  the  work  of  necessity  or  mercy. 
Artillerymen  say  that  there  are  periods  in  a  prolonged 


WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH. 


227 


battle  when  the  firing  must  cease.  The  battery  must 
rest,  that  the  guns  may  cool;  and  time  must  be  given 
also,  in  the  midst  of  the  roar  and  danger,  for  the  lift- 
ing of  the  smoke,  that  the  gunners  may  take  aim.  This 
is  the  purpose  of  the  Sabbath,  to  give  the  needed  rest 
in  preparation  for  the  renewed  toil  of  the  secular  days. 

(3)  It  is  for  the  women  to  say  whether  the  Sun- 
day newspaper  shall  be  the  domestic  oracle  or  not. 
Is  this  a  little  matter  ?  Not  so  !  It  is  the  head  and 
front  of  all  the  offending.  "Take  us  the  foxes,  the 
little  foxes,  that  spoil  the  vines."  It  is  the  Sun- 
day newspaper  that  opens  the  door  for  the  entering 
in  of  all  Sabbath  desecration.  The  one  reason 
which  is  given  for  its  publication,  to  wit,  that  we 
may  keep  apace  with  the  world,  is  the  supreme  rea- 
son for  rejecting  it.  The  divine  purpose  in  establish- 
ing the  Sabbath  was  to  give  the  people  an  opportunity 
of  getting  out  of  the  world  and  away  from  it.  It  is  a 
call  to  the  soul  to  come  up  out  of  the  mists  of  the 
lower  valleys  into  the  clear  atmosphere  with  God, 

(4)  It  is  for  the  women  to  say  whether  the  next 
generation  shall  be  a  generation  of  Sabbath  observers 
or  not.  They  may  not  be  able  to  transform  the  lives  of 
their  fathers  and  husbands,  or  to  prevent  them  from 
balancing  their  ledgers  and  reading  the  secular  papers 
on  the  Holy  Day.  But  if  they  are  true  to  their  re- 
sponsibilities, they  can  cause  that  matters  shall  be 
different  a  quarter  of  a  century  from  now.  Lord 
Shaftesbury  said,  "  You  want  a  new  generation  of 
men  and  women  ;  you  can  have  it  by  training  up  a 
new  generation  of  children."  As  the  twig  is  bent, 
the  tree  is  inclined.     The  boy  is  father  of  the  man. 

II.  Her  infiuence  in  society.  Here  woman  reigns 
supreme.    She  makes  the  customs  of  social  life.    She 


228  WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH. 

determines  what  its  culture,  its  vices,  its  marriages  and 
divorces,  its  scandals  and  dissipations  shall  be.  She 
decides  whether  its  womanly  ideal  shall  be  Queen 
Esther  or  Martha  Washington  or  Anne  Hathaway  or 
Trilby.  Just  now  we  hear  much  of  social  functions 
on  the  Sabbath,  of  literary  conversations  and  recep- 
tions and  musicales.  And  the  habit  of  Sabbath  visi- 
tation seems  to  be  growing  more  and  more  prevalent, 
even  in  Christian  homes.  If  this  is  a  true  report,  then 
it  is  because  our  Christian  women  have  permitted  it. 

Let  us  at  this  point  lay  down  the  proposition  that 
there  is  lawfully  no  such  thing  as  social  life,  in  the  gener- 
al acceptation  of  that  phrase,  on  the  Lord's  Day.  Any 
attempt  to  create  such  an  order  of  things  is  sure  to 
be  followed  by  social  corruption.  The  Germans  have 
found  it  so.  In  their  country,  the  Sabbath  is  the 
great  day  for  music  and  literary  converse  and  dra- 
matic presentations.  And  what  is  the  result?  The 
Sabbath,  which  was  intended  for  the  moral  and  spir- 
itual betterment  of  men,  is  a  very  plague  spot  in  the 
German  civilization.  The  story  was  all  told  by  Prof. 
Roscher,  a  distinguished  scientist,  who  recently  in  an 
analysis  of  a  statistical  report  showed  the  curious 
fact  that  the  great  majority  of  women  who  commit 
suicide,  do  so  on  Sunday,  while  the  majority  of  men 
who  take  their  lives,  do  it  on  Monday.  How  is  this 
fact  accounted  for  ?  On  Sunday  when  the  beer  gar- 
dens and  the  music-halls  and  the  theatres  are  all 
open,  the  women,  in  the  absence  of  their  husbands, 
are  left  to  bear  alone  the  weary  cares  of  the  home- 
life  ;  and,  lacking  the  sympathy  of  those  who  at  the 
altar  promised  to  love,  honor  and  protect  them,  they 
find  life  not  worth  living.  The  men,  on  the  other 
hand,  awake  on  Monday  morning  to  loathe  themselves 


WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH.  229 

for  the  dissipations  of  the  previous  day,  and  this  is 
their  hour  for  the  desperate  deed.  And  despite  this 
showing  there  are  people  who  prate  about  the  glories 
of  the  German  Sabbath' 

The  social  life  of  God's  people  is  in  connection 
with  the  sanctuary  service.  '*  Thither  the  tribes  go 
up."  It  is  a  goodly  fellowship.  "  As  iron  sharpen- 
eth  iron,  so  a  man  sharpeneth  the  face  of  his  friend." 
"Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds  our  hearts  in  Christian 
love."  Does  this  seem  to  give  a  melancholy  aspect 
to  the  Holy  Day  ?  God  forbid.  Why  should  it  be 
esteemed  a  melancholy  thing  to  spend  the  hours  in 
holy  aspiration  or  in  converse  respecting  the  great 
truths  and  problems  that  reach  out  into  the  eternal 
ages.  If  this  seems  melancholy,  it  can  only  be  to 
such  as  are  averse  to  the  noblest  and  best  ;  to  such 
as  are  wedded  to  the  earth  and  are  by  that  token  the 
more  in  need  of  the  uplift  of  the  Holy  Day. 

III.  In  business  life.  The  mind  of  the  Lord  is 
very  clear  as  to  secular  work  on  the  Holy  Day.  The 
stoning  of  the  man  who  gathered  sticks  on  the  Sab- 
bath was  intended  to  emphasize  at  the  very  begin- 
ning of  the  Theocracy  the  seriousness  of  the  breach 
of  the  Fourth  Commandment  at  this  point.  Of  the 
same  purport  was  the  stern  admonition  of  Nehemiah 
addressed  to  those  who  sold  their  commodities  in  the 
market  places  of  Jerusalem  on  the  Lord  s  Day.  It 
was  in  vain  that  he  closed  the  city  against  them  ;  for 
they  continued  to  bring  fish  and  grapes  and  figs  and 
garden  vegetables  which  they  offered  for  sale  outside 
the  gates.  He  then  drove  them  away  saying,  "  If  ye 
return,  I  will  lay  hands  upon  you."  All  this  would 
have  been  unnecessary,  however,  had  the  women  of 
Jerusalem    assumed  a  proper  attitude  toward   these 

« 


23° 


WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH. 


hucksters.*  It  was  for  them  to  say  whether  the  market- 
ing necessary  for  their  domestic  life,  should  be  done 
upon  the  Sabbath  or  not.  They  could  have  arrested 
the  abuse,  had  they  said  to  these  market-men,  "  If  you 
continue  to  offer  your  wares  on  the  Sabbath,  we  will 
not  patronize  you  on  that  or  any  other  day." 

If  any  of  the  important  business  houses  of  New 
York  are  open  on  the  Sabbath,  it  is  because  the 
women  choose  to  have  them  so.  But,  you  say,  the  rep- 
utable shops  are  all  closed  on  the  Lord's  Day.  Not  so. 
It  is  true,  the  doors  are  shut  and  bolted,  but  the  wares 
within  are  exposed  to  public  inspection  through  the 
columns  of  the  Sunday  newspaper.  You  read  these 
advertisements  at  your  leisure  in  your  homes,  and  on 
Monday  betake  yourselves  to  the  bargain  counter. 
It  is  respectfully  submitted  that  such  establishments 
as  these  are  in  fact  doing  a  splendid  business  on  Sun- 
day ;  indeed  the  very  best  business  of  the  entire  week; 
and  you  excellent  women  are  parties  to  it.  What 
shall  be  done  ?  Paironize  the  merchajits  who  honor 
the  Sabbath.  There  are  some  who  do  not  advertise 
on  that  day.  Lend  them  your  countenance  and  sup- 
port. If  one-tenth  of  the  Christian  women  of  New 
York  were  to  take  this  position,  true  to  their  con- 
sciences and  Christian  principles,  it  is  probable  that 
this  particular  breach  of  the  Sabbath  would  come  to 
an  end.  "But  this  would  be  a  boycott."  So  be  it. 
There  is  indeed  a  divine  boycott  put  upon  all  evil 
things.  We  are  commanded  to  encourage  the  right- 
eous in  their  obedience,  and  as   for  those  who  habit- 

*  A  considerable  number  of  the  tnirket-men  of  New  York  have  recently 
sent  to  their  patrons  a  request  that  raw  oysters  might  not  be  served  as  a  dinner 
course  on  the  Sabbath-day  ;  saying  that,  if  house-keepers  would  generally 
assent  to  this  slight  request,  a  large  force  of  market-men,  who  are  now  em- 
ployed in  looking  after  this  branch  of  the  business,  might  enjoy  their  Sabbath 
rest.  It  would  appear  as  if  no  Christian  woman  could  hesitate  a  moment  in 
such  a  matter. 


WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH. 


231 


ually  offend  the  divine  law,  '*  He  that  giveth  him  God- 
speed, is  partaker  of  his  evil  deeds." 

IV.  In  politics.  Here  woman  is  the  power  behind 
the  throne.  In  Plutarch's  life  of  Cicero  he  says,  "  The 
good  wife  Terentia  had  her  ambitions  and,  as  Cicero 
admits,  took  a  far  greater  share  with  him  in  politics 
than  she  permitted  him  to  have  in  domestic  affairs." 
This  is  generally  true  I  imagine,  and  if  not,  it  ought 
to  be. 

We  may  differ  as  to  the  desirableness  of  female 
suffrage  ;  but  we  shall  probably  all  agree  that  it  is  part 
of  a  wife's  business  to  see  that  her  husband  votes  the 
right  ticket  and  lends  his  influence  to  good  govern- 
ment. A  week  ago  to-day  the  fifty-third  Congress 
closed  its  session.  Far  into  the  holy  Sabbath,  which 
from  the  beginning  of  our  government  has  been  re- 
garded as  dies  iwn,  these  legislators  sat  in  God-defying 
counsel.  It  was  meet  that  a  Congress  which  has 
been  so  generally  contemned  by  all  parties  for  its 
folly  and  impotency,  should  thus  end  its  career  in  a 
flagrant  misdemeanor.  There  was  a  grim  appropriate- 
ness in  the  burst  of  laughter  which  greeted  the  mes- 
sage of  the  President  congratulating  them  on  the 
cessation  of  their  labors.  And  never  did  the  Doxol- 
ogy  meet  with  a  more  popular  echo  than  when,  as 
the  gavel  fell,  the  reporters  in  the  gallery  sang  : 

"  Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow, 
Praise  Him  all  creatures  here  below." 

In  a  similar  session  of  congress  some  years  ago  an  old 
man  of  reverent  aspect  arose  in  the  visitor's  gallery 
and  said,  "Ye  are  committing  an  offence  against  the 
great  Jehovah  in  thus  breaking  his  Holy  Day.  The 
wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell  and  all  the  nations 
that  forget  God!" 


232  WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH. 

It  is  in  the  power  of  the  great  multitude  of  Chris- 
tian women  in  America  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of 
this  and  similar  transgressions  against  the  divine  law. 
Let  them  use  their  utmost  influence  to  prevent  the 
re-election  of  Congressmen  who  have  been  blame- 
worthy in  this  matter.  It  need  scarcely  be  said  that 
the  women  need  not  wait  for  their  own  enfranchise- 
ment to  accomplish  this.  Let  us  remember  what 
Cato  said  and  act  accordingly  :  "  All  men  naturally 
govern  the  women  ;  we  Romans  govern  all  men  ;  and 
our  wives  govern  us." 

V.  In  the  church.  The  great  majority  of  church 
members  are  women — just  as  a  far  greater  majority 
in  our  jails  and  penitentiaries  are  men  ;  and  it  is  the 
influential  majority  in  both  cases.  It  is  obvious,  there- 
fore, that  the  moral  tone  of  the  Church  is  very  much 
what  the  women  choose  to  make  it. 

It  is  an  old  proverb,  "  Like  priests,  like  people  "; 
but  this  will  read  equally  well  the  other  way.  Min- 
isters are  but  human  and  their  people  must  needs  in- 
fluence them.  The  Mayor  of  New  York  City,  in  de- 
fending his  advocacy  of  the  Sunday  saloon,  has  de- 
clared that  mo:"e  than  fifty  ministers  have  written  to 
signify  their  agreement  with  him.  Of  course  we  may 
not  presume  to  question  the  truth  of  this  statement. 
We  are  left  then  to  believe,  that  there  are  more  than 
fifty  men  in  the  pulpits  of  New  York  City  in  solemn 
covenant  with  God  to  observe  his  law  and  advocate 
its  inviolability,  who  have  declared  themselves  in  favor 
of  the  opening  of  dram-shops  on  the  Lord's  Day. 
The  thing  seems  incredible,  but  we  are  bound  to  ac- 
cept it.  What  then  ?  Will  you  Christian  women 
consent  to  sit  under  the  teaching  of  such  men  ?  If 
the  trumpet  give  an  uncertain   sound  on  the  Sabbath 


WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH.  233 

question,  or  on  any  other  great  questions  of   public 
morality,  what  shall  the  righteous  do  ? 

It  devolves  upon  our  Christian  women  also  to  see 
that  the  right  sort  of  instruction  is  given  in  our  Sun- 
day-schools. Alas,  that  we  should  be  willing  to  farm 
out  the  spiritual  education  of  our  sons  and  daughters 
to  persons  of  whose  influence  we  seldom  make  in- 
quiry. It  has  been  said  that  the  first  four  years  of  a 
child's  life  are  more  important  than  the  four  years 
spent  at  college.  If  you  wish  to  send  your  child  to  a 
kindergarten,  you  insist  that  the  teacher  shall  present 
credentials.  How  much  more  important  that  you 
should  be  informed  as  to  the  efficiency  of  the  Sunday- 
school  teacher,  who  has  to  do  with  the  great  problems 
that  reach  out  into  the  endless  life. 

You  may  be  immensely  influential  by  your  prayers 
for  those  who  are  appointed  to  minister  in  spiritual 
things.  Lyman  Beecher  tells  of  an  old  woman  in  his 
congregation,  who,  laid  aside  from  the  common  duties 
of  an  active  life,  informed  him  that  during  the 
services  of  the  sanctuary  she  busied  herself  contin- 
uously in  prayer  for  him.  As  he  preached,  his  eyes 
would  rest  upon  her;  her  lips  were  moving;  he  knew 
that  she  was  presenting  his  name  before  the  throne 
of  the  heavenly  grace;  it  was  an  immeasurable  re- 
straint put  upon  him.  The  weakest  saint  may  thus 
become  a  mighty  factor  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church. 
If  ministers,  elders,  teachers,  people,  go  wrong,  the 
probability  is  that  you  personally  are,  in  a  measure, 
to  blame  for  it. 

I  hail,  therefore,  as  a  good  omen,  this  organization 
of  Christian  women  to  secure  the  Sabbath  rest.  The 
old  Knickerbocker  Church  has  a  motto,  Ee7i  dracht 
maakt   macht ;    "In    union    there    is  strength."      But 


234  WOMAN    AND    THE    SABBATH. 

better  still  and  more  literally,  "A  long  pull,  a  strong 
pull  and  a  pull  all  together."  That  way  lies  victory  in 
every  reform  movement.  It  was  a  great  day  for  re- 
form in  England  under  Charles  I.  when  Ann  Stugg, 
the  brewer's  wife,  appeared  at  the  door  of  the  House 
of  Commons  leading  a  long  procession  of  women. 
Her  excuse  for  such  forwardness  was  in  these  words: 
"It  may  be  thought  strange,  sir,  that  we  show  our- 
selves here;  but  I  pray  you  remember  that  Christ 
purchased  us  at  as  dear  a  rate  as  our  brother  men, 
and  He  requireth  the  same  obedience  from  us."  It 
was  a  great  day  for  missions  when  the  good  women 
of  our  churches  banded  themselves  together  in  an- 
swer to  the  cry  for  help  from  the  Zenanas  in  far-dis- 
tant lands.  It  was  a  great  day  for  the  temperance 
reform  when  the  women  marched  about  the  streets  of 
the  Ohio  towns  in  a  crusade  against  the  dram-shops, 
giving  rise  to  that  splendid  organization,  the  Women's 
Christian  Temperance  Union.  It  will  surely  prove  to 
have  been  a  great  day  for  the  Sabbath  reform  when 
the  women  came  together  in  this  Sabbath  Alliance. 
God  bless  these  ministering  women  and  enable 
them  in  co-operation  in  other  kindred  organizations, 
to  arrest  the  desecration  of  the  American  Sabbath  and 
to  give  a  new  significance  to  that  rich  promise:  "If 
thou  turn  away  thy  foot  from  the  Sabbath  from  doing 
thy  pleasure  on  my  holy  day;  and  call  the  Sabbath  a 
delight,  the  holy  of  the  Lord,  honourable;  and  shalt 
honour  him,  not  doing  thine  own  ways,  nor  finding 
thine  own  pleasure,  nor  speaking  thme  own  words: 
then  shalt  thou  delight  thyself  in  the  Lord:  and  I 
will  cause  thee  to  ride  upon  the  high  places  of  the 
earth." 


THE  PURPLE  CUP. 

"And  he  went  a  little  farther,  and  fell  on  his  face,  and  prayed,  saying,  O  my 
Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me  :  nevertheless  not  as  I 
will,  but  as  thou  wilt."— Matt.  xxvi.  39. 

It  was  the  last  night  of  our  Lord's  ministry  on 
earth — ''that  dark,  that  doleful  night,  when  powers 
of  earth  and  hell  arose  against  the  Son  of  God's  de- 
light." The  last  interview  in  the  upper  chamber  was 
over  ;  the  benediction  pronounced,  "  Peace  I  leave 
with  you,  my  peace  I  give  unto  you  ;  not  as  the  world 
giveth,  give  I  unto  you.  Let  not  your  heart  be 
troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid  "  ;  the  farewell  said, 
"  Arise,  let  us  go  hence."  They  came  down  the  outer 
stairway  and  passed  along  the  silent  street — one 
after  another  of  the  disciples  leaving  the  little  com- 
pany, until  three  only  were  left  with  Jesus — out 
through  the  gateway  across  the  ford  of  the  Kidron, 
upward  along  the  slope  of  Olivet  until  they  reached 
Gethsemane.  "My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful, 
even  unto  death,"  said  the  Master  ;  "  tarry  ye  here 
and  watch,  while  I  go  yonder."  He  must  needs  be 
alone  in  his  great  agony  :  for  this  is  that  knight- 
errant  who  was  seen  approaching  on  the  hills  ot 
Edom  with  garments  dyed  in  the  treading  of  the 
wine-press.  Being  a  man,  he  longed  for  sympathy  ; 
wherefore  he  said,  "  Tarry  ye  here  and  watch." 
In  an  hour  like  that  there  is  inexpressible  strength  in 

(235) 


236  THE    PURPLE    CUP. 

the  mere  thought  of  the  near  presence  of  another 
man.  Nay,  in  most  lives  there  are  seasons  of  such 
extreme  loneliness  that  comfort  comes  from  the 
sound  of  a  dog's  feet  pattering  along  the  dark  path 
beside  us. 

The  garden  here  referred  to  is  about  one-half 
mile  out  from  Jerusalem.  It  is  an  enclosure  of  per- 
haps seventy  paces  around.  Its  general  features  are 
the  same  as  nineteen  hundred  years  ago  ;  the  larger 
part  of  the  olive  grove,  however,  was  cut  down  by 
Titus  in  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  ;  there  are  still  eight 
gnarled  and  twisted  giants,  under  whose  shadow 
travellers  sit  and  recall  the  story  of  the  Lord's  pas- 
sion. To  the  west  lies  the  Holy  City,  just  beyond  the 
dark  ravine  through  which  the  brook  Kidron  goes 
rippling  on  to  the  Dead  Sea.  The  garden  is  now  in 
charge  of  a  brotherhood  of  Franciscan  monks,  who, 
from  their  flower  garden,  will  pluck  for  you,  for  a 
franc,  a  bunch  of  roses  red  as  blood. 

Let  us  go  and  stand  at  the  gateway  of  this  gar- 
den. Take  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for  the 
place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground.  Our 
Lord  is  agonizing  in  prayer  :  "  O  my  Father,  if  it  be 
possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me  !  " — as  if  a  stern 
hand  were  actually  pressing  to  his  lips  a  goblet,  from 
which  he  shrank  with  fear  and  trembling.  Let  us 
gaze  upon  this  purple  cup.  We  may  not  fathom  its 
full  meaning,  for  it  suggests  truths  which  stretch  far 
beyond  all  human  gaze.  It  is  like  the  legendary 
ring,  which  lay  upon  the  ground  inviting  a  child's 
hand  to  lift  it ;  but  if  you  tried,  lo  !  it  was  not  a  ring, 
but  the  first  link  of  a  chain  that  girdled  the  earth. 

I.  We  are  standing  here  face  to  face  7vith  the  mys- 
tery of  pain.     The  cry  of  the  Master  is  one  wave  of 


THE    PURPLE    CUP.  237 

the  boundless  sea  of  sorrows  ever  sobbing  on  the 
shore  of  human  life.  Hallam  says,  "The  deepest 
thing  in  human  experience  is  pain."  It  is  indeed  a 
great  mystery.  At  this  moment  there  are  thou- 
sands languishing  on  beds  of  fever,  little  children 
whose  limbs  are  twisted  with  anguish,  men  and 
women  groaning  and  shrieking.  Why  must  this  be  ? 
It  is  the  common  lot.  These  are  the  ills  that  flesh  is 
heir  to.  Our  Lord  would  not  have  been  a  perfect 
man  had  he  not  entered  into  this  common  lot.  He 
took  not  on  him  the  nature  of  angels,  but  of  men. 
He  was  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief. 
"  It  became  him,  for  whom  are  all  things,  and  by 
whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing  many  sons  unto 
glory,  to  make  the  captain  of  their  salvation  perfect 
through  sufferings." 

We  may  not  understand  the  mystery,  but  we  can 
get  a  mighty  strength  and  consolation  from  the 
thought  that  the  captain  of  our  salvation,  having 
himself  suffered,  can  be  touched  with  a  feeling  of  our 
infirmities.  He  is  able  to  sympathize  with  us.  When 
Lord  Nelson  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  the  Nile, 
they  carried  him  below  to  the  cock-pit,  and  the  sur- 
geons, who  were  ministering  to  the  other  wounded, 
at  once  left  the  decks  and  came  to  him.  He  said, 
"  Go  to  your  work  ;  I'll  take  my  turn  with  my  brave 
fellows."  So  it  was  with  Jesus  ;  he  took  his  turn 
with  us. 

"  .  .   .  O  Christ,  come  tenderly, 
By  thy  forsaken  sonship  in  the  red 
Wine-press;  by  the  wilderness  outspread, 
And  the  lone  garden  where  thine  agony 
Fell  bloody  from  thy  brow — by  all  those 
Permitted  desolations,  comfort  mine!" 


238  THE    PURPLE    CUP. 

II.  We  are  facing,  also,  the  great  problem  of  temptation. 
Here,  too,  is  mystery.  It  is  suggested  to  those  who 
are  just  now  concerned  in  the  vain  investigation  of 
psychic  force  and  psychic  phenomena,  that  they  ex- 
plain, if  possible,  the  influence  of  the  unseen  power 
of  evil  on  huinan  souls — the  leering  devil,  the  "toad 
squat  at  the  ear  of  Eve."  That  were  difficult  enough  ; 
but  here  is  a  greater  problem  still  :  How  could  he  be 
tempted,  in  whom  there  was  no  evil  ?  How  could 
there  be  a  hand-clasp,  when  the  hand  that  was  reached 
out  of  the  darkness  found  naught  to  meet  it  ? 

Our  Lord,  on  leaving  the  upper  chamber,  said, 
"  The  prince  of  this  world  cometh,  and  hath  nothing 
in  me."  It  is  a  mistake  to  think  that  his  temptation 
was  limited  to  the  forty  days  in  the  wilderness  ;  all 
along  the  way  the  adversary  beset  him,  ever  seek- 
ing to  allure  him  from  the  pathway  leading  to  the 
cross. 

The  sorest  temptation  that  ever  comes  to  man,  is 
not  that  which  seduces  him  into  a  common  vice,  but 
rather  that  which  moves  him  to  shirk  his  duty.  It  is 
so  easy  to  yield,  and  so  fatal.  At  this  point  also  our 
Lord  is  our  brother,  "  For  in  that  he  himself  has 
suffered,  being  tempted,  he  is  able  to  succor  them 
that  are  tempted."  He  reached  the  uttermost  limit. 
The  question  presented  to  him  by  the  adversary  was 
whether  he  would  please  himself  or,  by  the  anguish  of 
the  cross,  save  the  world.  It  was  the  same  question 
that  comes  to  the  engineer  when  he  sees  that  the 
bridge  has  gone  down  and  scores  of  lives  depend 
upon  his  faithfulness  ;  shall  he  leap,  or  stand  at  his 
post  ?  It  is  the  same  that  comes  to  the  captain  when 
his  ship  is  reeling,  and  the  passengers  are  crying  for 
help,  and  the  life-boat  is  launched  ;  shall  he   betake 


THE    PURPLE    CUP.  239 

himself  to  the  boat,  or  stand  at  his  post  looking  to 
the  safety  of  all  ?  It  is  the  same  that  comes  to  every 
man  :  "Shall  I  look  to  my  own  comfort,  shall  I  live 
for  self-pleasing  and  self-aggrandizement,  or  shall  I 
hearken  to  the  universal  need  and  do  my  utmost  to 
relieve  it  ? " 

In  the  hour  of  that  fierce  Waterloo  when  the  worse 
contends  with  the  better  reason,  the  higher  nature 
against  the  lower,  love  against  selfishness,  lo  !  there 
is  a  mighty  helper  who  stands  by.  The  thing  that 
amazed  the  king  of  Babylon  when  he  looked  into  the 
fiery  furnace  and  saw  beside  the  three  brave  youths 
a  fourth  figure  like  unto  the  Son  of  God,  is  ever  hap- 
pening. Here  is  the  promise  :  "  When  thou  goest 
through  the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee  ;  and  through 
the  rivers,  they  shall  not  overflow  thee  ;  when  thou 
walkest  through  the  fire  thou  shalt  not  be  burned  ; 
neither  shall  the  flame  kindle  upon  thee.  For  I  am 
the  Lord  thy  God,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  thy  Sav- 
iour." 

III.  In  this  cup  was,  also,  the  bitterness  of  death.  O 
grim  monster,  who  does  not  fear  thee  1  The  cold 
embrace,  the  fluttering  pulse,  the  dimming  eye.  The 
followers  of  Mohammed  are  fond  of  claiming  an  utter 
fearlessness  of  death,  holding  that  a  man's  time  is 
written  on  his  forehead,  and  there  is  no  power  that 
can  resist  it.  Yet  when  the  plague  broke  out  at 
Medina,  and  when  the  priests  were  fleeing,  they  ex- 
cused themselves  by  saying,  "It  is  true  that  Allah 
has  ordained  death,  but  owing  to  our  unworthiness 
we  feel  moved  to  decline  the  divine  dispensation." 
Our  Lord  being  a  perfect  man  and  in  all  points  such 
as  we  are,  was  moved  by  this  common  fear.  He  fore- 
saw moreover,  the  bitter  accessories  of  his  death  ; 


240  THE    PURPLE    CUP. 

the  treachery,  the  loneliness,  the  cross,  the  nails,  the 
long  hours  of  fever,  the  gangrene,  the  breaking  heart. 
Was  it  strange  that  he  dreaded  it  ? 

It  is  a  comfort  to  feel  that  even  in  this  weakness 
of  fear  he  can  sympathize  with  us.  It  is  an  added 
comfort  to  know  that,  in  our  death  his  companionship 
will  be  our  strong  support.  How  many  a  soul  has 
passed  along  the  journey  saying,  "  Yea,  though  I  walk 
through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear 
no  evil  :  for  thou  art  with  me  ;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff, 
they  comfort  me."  By  his  death  our  death  is  robbed 
of  its  chiefest  pain.  As  Queen  Eleanor,  when  her 
royal  husband  had  been  pierced  by  a  poisoned  arrow, 
sucked  the  virus  from  the  wound,  so,  since  Jesus 
drank  this  cup,  death  can  never  be  the  same  to  us. 
"The  sting  of  death  is  sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is 
the  law  ;  but  thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the 
victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

But  there  was  something  more  than  death  in  this 
cup  ;  or  else  many  a  martyr  has  faced  his  last  agony 
more  heroically  than  this  Son  of  Man.  John  Brad- 
ford, embracing  the  stake,  said,  "  I  go  in  a  chariot  of 
fire,  to  have  supper  with  my  Lord  to-night."  Alice 
Driver,  kissing  a  chain  about  her  neck,  "  This  is  a 
goodly  neckerchief  ;  the  Lord  be  praised  for  it  !  " 
Castilia  Rupea,  who  was  hurled  from  a  precipice, 
cried  'out,  "  Ye  throw  my  body  from  the  steep  hill, 
but  my  soul  shall  mount  up  on  eagle's  wings  !  "  Dr. 
Taylor,  on  his  way  to  die  at  Hadley,  said  exultingly, 
"  There  are  but  two  more  stiles,  and  I  shall  be  at  my 
Father's  house."  Latimer,  when  the  fagots  were 
kindled  about  him,  said  to  his  comrade  at  the  neigh- 
boring stake,  "Be  of  good  cheer;  we  light  a  candle 
this  day  in    England,   which    shall    never    be    extin- 


THE    PURPLE    CUP.  24I 

guished."  O  what  multitudes  have  looked  death  in 
the  face — death  under  the  gleaming  axe,  death  in  the 
arena,  death  among  the  fagots,  death  with  all  the 
tortures  that  fiendish  ingenuity  could  devise — smil- 
ing, exulting,  singing  Te  Deums  ;  and  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  was  the  bravest  of  men.  There  must  have 
been  something  more  than  death,  then,  in  this  cup. 
What  was  it  ? 

IV.  The  world's  sin.  The  two  darkest,  bitterest 
experiences  in  the  history  of  a  human  soul  are  con- 
viction of  sin  and  retribution  ;  both  of  these,  in  a 
sense,  came  to  him  who  became  our  substitute  be- 
fore the  offended  law. 

I.  Conviction  of  sin.  Was  Christ  a  sinner  then? 
No  and  yes.  Of  all  who  ever  lived  on  earth  he  was 
the  only  guiltless  one.  There  was  no  guile  in  his 
heart,  no  guile  in  his  lips.  But  he  took  our  place, 
and  in  doing  so  he  must  have  changed  places  with  us 
in  such  a  way  as  to  enter  into  our  very  consciousness. 
If  he  was  to  suffer  for  our  sins,  he  must  in  a  sense 
feel  them  as  his  own.  Thus  it  is  written,  "  He  that 
knew  no  sin,  became  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him."  The  pain 
of  the  publican  who  beat  upon  his  breast,  crying, 
"  God  be  merciful  "  ;  the  pain  of  the  prodigal  son  as 
he  sat  in  the  swine  field,  realizing  in  rags  and  poverty 
his  unspeakable  loss  ;  the  pain  of  Bunyan,  who,  as  he 
walked  through  the  forest  with  a  certain  fearful  look- 
ing for  of  judgment,  envied,  as  he  says,  the  very  owls 
and  toads  ;  the  pain  of  all  who  have  ever  felt  them- 
selves to  have  passed  justly  under  the  wrath  of  a 
holy  God  ;  all  this  was  in  the  cup  which,  in  behalf 
of  the  ruined  race,  was  pressed  to  Jesus'  lips.  It  must 
have  been    to   his  own  consciousness    as  if    he,    the 


242 


THE    PURPLE    CUP. 


absolutely  sinless  one,  had  committed  all  the  thefts 
and  murders  and  adulteries  and  unspeakable 
blasphemies,  that  had  ever  been  laid  to  his  people's 
charge.  Oh,  what  a  world  of  anguish  was  laid  upon 
the  heart  of  this  Atlas,  who  thus  identified  himself 
with  us  ! 

2.  Experience  of  retributio7i.  Our  Lord  had  not 
fully  discharged  his  vicarious  office  until  he  assumed 
the  full  penalty  of  our  sin  ;  so  it  is  written,  "Christ 
hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being 
made  a  curse  for  us."  In  view  of  this  fact  there  is  an 
awful  significance  in  the  statement  of  the  historic 
creed  of  the  universal  Church,  "  He  descended  into 
hell  for  us."  The  worm  of  remorse  that  gnaws  and 
never  dies,  the  fire  of  despair  that  burns  and  is  never 
quenched,  the  outer  darkness  of  divine  abandonment, 
he  knew  them  all.  Little  wonder  that  his  frame 
shook  and  trembled,  or  that  the  sweat  of  agony 
stood  like  blood  drops  on  his  brow,  when  this  cup 
was  pressed  to  his  lips. 

"  O  Christ,  what  burdens  bowed  thy  head  ! 

Our  load  was  laid  on  thee  ; 
Thou  stoodest  in  the  sinner's  stead, 

Didst  bear  all  ill  for  me. 
Death  and  the  curse  were  in  our  cup  ; 

O  Christ,  'twas  full  for  thee  ! 
But  thou  hast  drained  the  last  dark  drop  j 

'Tis  empty  now  for  me. 
That  bitter  cup,  love  drank  it  up  ; 

Now  blessing's  draught  for  me  !  " 

Here  then  is  the  antidote  for  death.  To  receive  Christ 
by  faith  is  to  consent  that  he  shall  thus  stand  in  our 
place  before  the  offended  law.  In  this  case  our  guilt 
is  expiated  in  him  and  we  go  free.  "  He  that  believeth 
shall  be  saved."     And,  being  saved  by  this  free  grace 


THE    PURPLE    CUP.  243 

of  Christ,  what  remains  for  us  but  to  live  for  him? 
At  the  beginning  of  our  Civil  War  in  the  little  town 
of  Yadkin  there  was  a  collision  of  the  skirmish  lines. 
The  negroes,  hiding  in  the  swamps  and  behind  the 
fences,  saw  here  and  there  the  puffs  of  smoke,  and 
knew  that  this  was  a  part  of  a  mighty  conflict  in 
which  were  involved  their  hopes  of  manhood  and 
freedom.  The  next  morning  an  old  colored  preacher, 
coming  out  of  hiding,  saw  lying  in  the  road  a  dead 
man,  his  hands  clutching  the  earth,  his  blue  coat 
stained  with  his  life-blood.  He  went  back  and 
brought  with  him  a  little  company  of  the  refugees,  and 
they  scooped  out  a  shallow  grave  beside  the  road  and 
buried  this  man,  who,  they  felt,  had  suffered  and  died 
in  their  behalf.  To-day  a  church  stands  over  that 
mound  and  the  negroes  assemble  there  to  render 
praises  to  God.  Oh,  what  do  we  owe  to  him  who  by 
his  death  on  Calvary  delivered  us  from  eternal  shame 
and  sorrow  !  "  What  shall  I  render  unto  him  for  all 
his  loving  kindness?  I  will  take  the  cup  of  salvation 
and  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord." 

Here,  also,  is  the  secret  of  life.  Life  is  character. 
Character  begins  when  a  man's  will  is  subjected  to 
the  divine  will.  To  every  one  of  us  comes  sooner  or 
later  the  struggle  of  Gethsemane.  It  is  a  conflict  of 
wills.  I  want  to  have  my  way  ;  God  wants  to  have 
his  way  with  me.  As  his  child  I  have  power  to  defy 
him,  but  that  way  lies  death.  The  turning  point  of 
life,  the  crisis  of  the  battle,  is  when  you  or  I  can  say, 
"  O  my  Father,  not  my  will  but  thine  be  done  ! " 
This  marks  the  entrance  of  the  higher  life. 

It  is  written  that  when  the  anguish  of  Gethsemane 
was  over,  an  angel  came  and  ministered  to  Christ. 
He  needed   help  ;  his  form   was  bowed,  his  face  bore 


244  THE    PURPLE    CUP. 

the  marks  of  his  terrific  struggle.  A  gleam  as  of  a 
star  falling,  and  lo  !  an  angel  bent  over  him.  And 
something  like  this  comes  to  all  who  end  the  conflict 
by  yielding  a  complete  and  final  acquiescence  in  the 
divine  will.  Our  Lord  himself,  kinder  than  any 
angel,  bends  down  to  say,  "Thou  hast  fought  a  good 
fight.  Thou  art  my  younger  brother  in  the  glory 
of  the  better  life."  And  thenceforth  we  are  no  longer 
our  own  ;  our  lives  are  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 


DISABLED  BY  UNBELIEF. 

"  So  we  see  that  they  could  not  enter  in  because  of  unbelief." — Heb.  iii.  ig. 

The  children  of  Israel  are  frequently  spoken  of  in 
Scripture  as  a  stiff-necked  people — "  A  perverse  and 
stiff-necked  people."  Why  ?  Because  they  were  so 
slow  to  learn  the  simple  lesson,  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy 
God." 

To  teach  this  lesson  was  the  prime  purpose  of  the 
wonders  that  were  wrought  on  that  Passover  night 
when  the  Israelites  were  delivered  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt  and  out  of  the  house  of  their  bondage.  They 
had  been  told  of  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey; 
the  arm  of  the  Lord,  made  bare  in  their  behalf  in  the 
terrible  plague,  was  to  lead  them  thither.  No  more 
toiling  in  the  brick  yards,  no  more  cringing  under 
the  whip  of  scorpions  ;  rest,  green  pastures,  milk  and 
honey  ;  these  were  the  pleasures  to  which  they  were 
looking  forward  when,  girdled  and  sandalled  and  lean- 
ing on  their  staves,  they  waited  for  the  signal  on  that 
dreadful  night.  It  came  at  length,  the  awful  cres- 
cendo of  woe,  and  forth  they  marched  under  the 
blood-stained  lintels  of  their  doors. 

It  was  only  a  ten  days'  journey  from  Rameses  to 
the  foot  hills  of  Canaan.  Ten  days  and  their  troubles 
would  be  over.  Alas  !  had  they  only  known.  The 
ten  days  were  to  stretch  out  into  forty  years  of  wan- 

(24s) 


246  DISABLED    BY    UNBELIEF. 

dering,  with  Canaan  almost  in  sight.  So  near  and 
yet  so  far!  And  all  because  of  their  unbelief;  for 
they  could  not  enter  in  until  they  had  learned  this 
lesson,  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God." 

It  was  three  days  only  after  their  departure  when 
they  encamped  at  Pi-hahiroth  between  Migdol  and 
the  sea,  with  the  mountains  on  either  side.  They 
heard  the  sound  of  horses'  hoofs  afar  off,  and  the  cry 
was  raised  that  Pharaoh  and  his  host  were  pursuing 
them.  Smitten  with  sudden  fear,  they  began  to  com- 
plain of  their  folly  in  leaving  Egypt.  Here  they  were, 
caught  in  a  trap  and  doomed  to  death.  What  should 
they  do?  It  seems  not  to  have  occurred  to  them 
that  the  Lord  was  their  God.  Stand  still  and  see 
his  salvation  !  The  waves  rolled  back  to  make  a 
way  of  escape,  and  all  night  long,  over  the  stones 
slippery  with  seaweed,  they  fled  before  the  rumbling 
of  the  chariot  wheels.  Not  one  was  lost.  On  the 
further  side  of  the  sea  they  heard,  in  the  deep  dark- 
ness, the  rolling  back  of  the  waters,  the  neighing  of 
horses  and  the  shrill  cries  of  struggling  men.  The 
day  broke  ;  the  chariot  wheels  and  corpses  of  Pha- 
raoh's men  came  floating  to  the  shore.  The  song 
was  raised,  "Who  is  like  unto  our  God,  glorious  in 
holiness,  fearful  in  praises,  doing  wonders  !  "  Now 
surely  they  had  learned  their  lesson.  Never  more 
could  they  forget  that  the  Lord  was  their  God. 

Not  long  after,  they  pitched  their  tents  under  the 
shadow  of  Sinai.  Never  in  all  the  course  of  history, 
save  at  Golgotha,  have  there  been  such  manifesta- 
tions of  a  present  Deity  as  at  that  flaming  mount: 
the  earth  quaked  and  trembled,  clouds  gathered  about 
the  summit  and  their  blackness  was  rent  by  vivid 
lightning  ;  the  sound  of  a  trumpet  was  heard  waxing 


DISABLED    BY    UNBELIEF.  247 

louder  and  louder.  But  despite  these  awful  phenom- 
ena, the  people  soon  betrayed  their  utter  unbelief :  "  Up, 
make  us  gods  !  "  they  cried.  They  reared  the  golden 
calf  and  danced  about  it  in  unholy  orgies.  These  be 
your  gods,  O  Israel !  The  sacred  bull  of  Egypt,  as- 
sociated with  all  the  sorrows  of  their  bitter  bondage, 
was  more  to  them  than  Jehovah,  who  had  borne  them 
upon  his  providence  as  on  eagle's  wings. 

It  was  the  summer  after  the  exodus  when  they 
found  themselves  at  Kadesh-Barnea,  on  the  very 
borders  of  the  promised  land.  Off  yonder  were  its 
green  mountain  slopes  ;  naught  was  needed  but  that 
they  should  go  in  and  take  possession,  but  they  hesi- 
tated. Who  knew  what  dangers  might  await  them  ? 
Spies  were  sent  to  search  out  the  land.  They  re- 
turned presently,  bringing  with  them  grapes  and 
pomegranates  and  other  rich  products  of  the  country, 
but  saying,  "There  are  giants  in  the  land  and  we 
were  in  their  sight  but  as  grasshoppers."  Then  the 
voice  of  wailing,  "Why  did  we  ever  come  out  of 
Egypt?  Far  better  to  have  remained  in  bondage 
with  our  simple  meal  of  leeks  and  lentils,  than  to 
have  come  forth  to  face  this  certainty  of  death." 
Where  was  their  confidence  in  God  ?  The  great 
lesson  was  still  unlearned.  Whipped  on  by  unbelief, 
they  must  still  go  round  about  by  the  way  of  the 
wilderness  until  they  shall  learn  that  the  Lord  is 
God. 

Now  thirty-eight  years  have  passed  and  gone  ; 
they  are  on  the  borders  of  Canaan.  All  along  their 
journey  they  have  been  led  by  the  pillar  of  cloud  by 
day  and  of  fire  by  night.  Not  once  has  God  forsaken 
them.  Yet,  under  a  momentary  trial,  they  again 
give   way    to    murmuring.      The   fiery   serpents  run 


248  DISABLED    BY    UNBELIEF. 

through  the  camp,  hissing  and  stinging.  The  brazen 
serpent  is  upreared  and  the  word  goes  forth,  "  Look 
and  live  !  "  They  are  saved,  but  not  yet  convinced. 
They  cannot  enter  in  because  of  unbelief.  Verily, 
they  are  a  perverse  and  stiff-necked  people. 

We  are  all  alike  ;  there  is  no  difference.  We  differ 
as  to  our  darling  sins,  but  back  of  them  all  lies  unbe- 
lief. This  is  the  head  and  front  of  all  our  offending. 
Oh,  how  many  lands  of  promise  we  are  prevented 
from  entering  by  our  unbelief  !  Why  is  it  that  all  are 
not  partakers  of  the  rich  inheritance  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ?  Because  of  unbelief;  for  it  is  written, 
"This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye  believe  on  him 
whom  he  hath  sent." 

The  universal  query  is  this  :  "What  shall  I  do  to 
be  saved  ?  "  But  back  of  that  is  another  :  "  What 
has  God  done  to  save  me  ?"  A  mother  with  her  lit- 
tle child  crossing  an  arm  of  the  Syrian  desert  saw  in 
the  distance  tliC  dreadful  token  of  an  approaching 
sand  storm, — the  3''ellov;r  haze,  the  low  hissing.  She 
began  to  run  with  all  speed,  but  soon  perceived  that 
the  simoom  must  overtake  her.  She  hastily  scooped 
out  a  hole  in  the  sand,  into  it  she  placed  her  child, 
and  threw  herself  over  it.  The  storm  swept  past;  the 
mother  died,  but  the  child  was  saved.  This  is  the 
story  of  the  cross.  One  died  for  ail  because  all  were 
under  sentence  of  death,  that  we  might  be  saved 
through  him.  He  was  wounded  for  our  transgres- 
sions and  bruised  for  our  iniquities,  that  by  his 
stripes  we  might  be  healed.  Now  returns  the  ques- 
tion, "What  must  I  do?"  And  the  answer  is,  "Be- 
lieve, only  believe  !  " 

(i)  We  are  commanded  so  to  do.  "  Believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou   shalt  be  saved."     "He 


DISABLED    BY    UNBELIEF.  249 

that  believeth  and  is  baptized  "  (that  is.  makes  con- 
fession of  his  faith,  because  with  the  heart  man  be- 
lieveth unto  righteousness  and  with  the  mouth  con- 
fession is  made  unto  salvation)  "  shall  be  saved  ;  and 
he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned."  "lam  the 
resurrection  and  the  life  :  he  that  believeth  in  me, 
though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live  ;  and  whoso- 
ever liveth  and  believeth  in  me  shall  never  die."  "  He 
that  believeth  on  the  Son  is  not  condemned  ;  but  he 
that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already,  because  he 
hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  God."  It  will  probably  be  conceded  on  all 
sides  that,  inasmuch  as  salvation  is  of  free  grace,  God 
has  the  right  to  affix  to  it  any  condition  which  might 
please  him.  This  is  the  sole  condition — to  believe  in 
the  only  begotten  Son  of  God. 

(2)  To  believe  is  necessary  in  the  nature  of  the  case. 
We,  being  made  in  the  divine  likeness,  are  possessed 
of  sovereign  wills  and  God  cannot  force  his  grace 
upon  us.  If  he  constrains  us,  it  must  be  with  the 
"cords  of  a  man."  He  did  not  force  the  children  of 
Israel  to  partake  of  the  manna  which  he  gave.  It  lay 
upon  the  ground  plenteous  as  hoar  frost ;  it  was  free, 
absolutely  free  ;  and  there  was  enough  for  all.  But 
a  man  might  walk  through  the  camp  with  manna 
lying  thick  on  all  sides  of  him,  and  yet  die  of  starva- 
tion, if  he  would  not  stoop  down  and  take  of  it. 
Faith  is  not  mere  intellectual  assent  to  a  fact.  It  is 
appropriation.  It  is  the  hand  stretched  forth.  It  is 
receiving  Christ  so  that  he  becomes  ours,  his  life 
blending  with  our  lives  forevermore. 

(3)  It  is  possible  for  all  to  believe  in  Christ.  Indeed 
it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive  of  any  other  condi- 
tion which  would  have  placed  the  divine  grace  within 


250  DISABLED    BY    UNBELIEF. 

the  reach  of  all.  Gcd  might  have  required  us  to 
stand  like  St.  Simeon  Stylites  upon  a  pillar  under  the 
suns  of  summer  and  the  storms  of  winter  for  weary 
years,  bound  with  a  chain  like  his,  twenty  cubits 
long.  Or  he  might  have  commanded  us  to  journey 
to  some  distant  shrine,  as  the  INIoslems  do  to  the 
black  stone  of  the  Caaba.  And  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
if  such  injunctions  had  been  sealed  with  an  unmis- 
takable sanction,  we  would  all  be  inclined  to  obey 
them  ;  for  eternal  life,  even  at  such  a  cost,  would  be 
cheaply  bought.  But  it  has  pleased  God  instead  to 
make  the  way  plain  and  easy  for  all.  Only  believe. 
The  living  bread  is  without  price,  we  need  only  to 
take  and  eat  it. 

What  then  ?  How  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect 
so  great  salvation  ?  So  free,  so  bountiful,  so  glorious  ! 
Let  us  learn  the  lesson  of  the  wedding  garment  :  A 
certain  king  made  a  marriage  supper  for  his  son  ;  he 
provided  a  rich  wardrobe  in  which  were  suitable  gar- 
ments for  all  who  were  invited  to  the  feast.  When 
all  were  come  together,  he  went  in  and  out  among 
the  guests,  and  lo  !  here  was  one  who  had  not  on  a 
weddinggarment.  "  Friend,  how  camest  thou  in  hither 
in  this  guise?"  And  he  had  nothing  to  say.  Speech- 
less !  Why  ?  Because  there  was  nothing  that  could 
be  said.  "  Cast  him  forth  into  the  outer  darkness, 
where  there  is  weeping  and  wailing  and  gnashing 
of  teeth  "  ;  where  men  curse  their  unspeakable  folly, 
in  rejecting  the  great  blessing  which  was  to  be  had 
for  the  mere  taking.  It  was  free  and  nigh,  and  they 
would  not  have  it. 

But  the  lesson  here  is  not  for  the  impenitent  alone. 
We,  who  profess  to  follow  Jesus,  fall  far  short,  by 
reason  of  our  measure  of  unbelief,  of  the  higher  life. 


DISABLED    BY    UNBELIEF.  25 1 

It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  saved  from  hell  ;  but  this  is 
only  the  beginning  of  salvation.     Salvation  is  a  vast 
word,  and  has  in  it  all  the  treasures  of  the  Christian 
life      There  are  maximum  Christians,  and  there  are 
minimum  Christians,  and  we    may  be   whatever  we 
will      Lot  was  a  good  man,  but  he  pitched  his  tent 
too  near  the  gates  of  Sodom  ;  and  when  the  message 
came  "  Fly  for  your  life  ;  look  not  behind  you  !  "  he 
betook  himself  to  the  mountains.     When  he  passed 
throucrh  the  gateway  of  little  Zoar,  he  was  a  bereaved 
and  p^'overty-stricken  man.     He  had  lost  all  ;  herds, 
flocks,  beloved   wife,   earthly   possessions,   and   was 
saved  so  as  by  fire.    We  may  be  saved  in  like  manner; 
or  if  we  choose,  we  may  have  ministered  unto  us  an 
abundant  entrance  into  the  celestial  city.     There  are 
vast  possibilities  in  the  Christian  life.     God  help  us 
so  to  believe  that  we  may  attain  unto  them. 

Look  now  at  the  sad  disabilities  brought  upon  us 

by  our  unbelief. 

(A  By  our  unbelief  we  are  excluded  from  the  prom- 
ised land  of  peace.  This  is  the  inheritance  which  our 
master  intended  for  us  :  "  Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my 
peace  I  give  unto  you  ;  not  as  the  world  giveth,_give 
I  unto  you.  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled,  neither 
let  it  be  afraid."     And  we  go  on  singing  : 

"When  thou,  my  righteous  Judge,  shalt  come 
To  take  thy  ransomed  people  home, 

Shall  I  among  them  stand  ? 
Shall  such  a  worthless  worm  as  I, 
Who  sometimes  am  afraid  to  die, 
Be  found  at  thy  right  hand  ?" 
Why  do  we  not  take  him    at   his  word  ?     Are   you 
saved  ^     "I  hope  so."     Hope  so  !     Why  do  you  not 
believe  it  ?     Did  not  the  Lord  say  that  when  you  had 


252  DISABLED    BY    UNBELIEF. 

placed  yourself  in  his  charge,  no  man  should  pluck 
you  out  of  his  hand  ?  Did  he  not  say,  "  Lo,  I  am 
with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  "  ?  Is  it  not  true, 
"There  is,  therefore,  now  no  condemnation  to  them 
which  are  in  Christ  Jesus  "  ?  Does  this  mean  nothing, 
"Who  shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of  God's 
elect?  It  is  God  that  justifieth.  Who  is  he  that 
condemneth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died."  Have  you  re- 
pented ?  Have  you  believed  ?  Have  you  been  bap- 
tized ?  If  not,  get  down  on  your  knees  and  "  do  the 
first  works."  But  if  you  have  already  committed  your- 
self to  Christ  and  for  Christ,  then  take  the  Master  at 
his  word  and  rest  in  him. 

On  that  night  when  Jesus  came  walking  to  his 
disciples  on  the  sea,  Peter  was  moved  to  say,  "  Lord, 
if  it  be  thou,  bid  me  come  unto  thee  on  the  water." 
And  the  Master  said,  "Come."  He  set  out  bravely, 
but  looking  on  the  yawning  billows,  he  began 
to  sink,  and  cried,  "  Lord,  save  me  !  "  The  hand  was 
stretched  out  and  then  the  reproving  word,  "O 
thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt?" 
Do  we  covet  the  calm  self-poise  of  Jesus?  Do  we 
long  for  that  peace  which  moves  above  all  the  raging 
waves  of  doubt  and  worry  ?  Then  let  us  believe. 
Doubt  cuts  the  sinews  of  our  strength.  Doubt  clips 
our  wings  and  leaves  us  to  flutter  near  the  earth,  like 
wounded  birds  that  should  soar  aloft  and  sing. 

(2)  By  our  unbelief  we  arc  excluded  from  the  promised 
land  of  character.  What  is  character  ?  Christ-like- 
ness. And  how  is  it  attained  ?  By  the  imitation  of 
Christ.  We  profess  to  believe  in  him  as  the  chiefest 
among  ten  thousand  and  the  one  altogether  lovely. 
He  is  that  perfect  ideal  of  manhood  in  whom  are 
manifest  all  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit :  love,  joy,  peace, 


DISABLED    BY    UNBELIEF.  253 

long-suffering,  gentleness,  goodness,  truth.  If  we  so 
believe  in  him,  we  shall  be  ever  following  in  his  foot- 
steps. The  world  expects  to  see  in  us  a  reflection  of 
the  perfections  of  our  Lord.  It  is  a  reasonable  re- 
quirement. The  measure  of  our  attainment  unto  this 
Christ-likeness  will  be  precisely  the  measure  of  our 
faith.  "Wherefore,  seeing  we  are  compassed  about 
with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us  lay  aside 
every  weight  and  the  sin  that  doth  so  easily  beset  us, 
and  let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set  before 
us,  looking  unto  Jesus  the  author  and  finisher  of  our 
faith." 

(3)  By  our  measure  of  unbelief  we  are  shut  out  from 
the  Canaan  of  power  and  usefulness.  At  the  foot  of  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration  the  disciples  were  put  to 
shame  because  they  were  unable  to  heal  the  demoniac 
boy.  The  Lord  came  down  out  of  the  mountain  and 
into  their  midst,  his  face  shining,  and  looking  round 
upon  his  disciples  he  said,  "  O  ye  faithless  ones,  how 
long  shall  I  bear  with  you  ?"  Afterwards  when  they 
asked  him,  "Why  could  not  we  heal  the  lad?"  he 
answered,  "  Because  of  your  unbelief."  Then,  as  they 
continued  their  journey,  he  said  unto  them,  "  If  ye 
have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  ye  shall  say 
unto  this  mountain.  Remove  hence  to  yonder  place  ; 
and  it  shall  remove."  A  grain  of  mustard  seed  was 
the  symbol  of  littleness,  but  the  mustard  seed  had  in 
it  the  power  of  life.  The  lifting  of  a  mountain  was 
the  symbol  of  impossibility,  but  all  things  are  possible 
to  him  who  believes.  This  is  not  rhetoric  ;  not 
hyperbole  ;  it  is  truth.  If  our  faith  were  perfect,  it 
would  always  be  buttressed  by  the  omnipotence  of 
God. 


254  DISABLED    BY    UNBELIEF. 

We  are  appointed  to  a  great  work,  the  work  of 
the  kingdom  of  truth  and  righteousness.  Do  we 
believe  in  our  divine  appointment  to  that  work,  and 
have  we  an  unwavering  faith  in  its  ultimate  success? 
On  Monday,  September  the  tenth,  1807,  a  great  crowd 
was  assembled  on  the  wharf  in  Albany  to  witness  the 
trial  trip  of  Robert  Fulton's  boat,  the  Clermont. 
They  called  it  "Fulton's  Folly."  He  says  that  on 
that  day  he  heard  many  "sarcastic  remarks."  They 
were  making  great  sport  of  him.  But  presently 
clouds  of  steam  and  smoke  puffed  from  her  smoke- 
stacks, the  spray  began  to  fly  from  her  paddle- 
wheels  and  the  first  steamboat  of  history  moved  out 
into  the  river.  Then  the  laughter  ceased  ;  and  as  the 
Clermont  moved  down  the  Hudson,  her  builder, 
standing  on  her  deck,  smiled  as  in  the  distance  he 
heard  the  sound  of  cheering.  The  secret  of  his  suc- 
cess lay  in  a  profound  belief  in  his  work.  He  knew 
that  right  principles  were  involved  in  the  machinery 
of  the  Clermont.  This  is  the  faith  that  ever  wins. 
Our  work  is  the  bringing  of  the  nations  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  Christ.  O  for  a  larger  faith  in  the  outcome; 
the  outcome  which  rests  upon  the  veracity  of  the 
living  God  !  Let  us  believe  that  the  ships  of  Tarshish 
will  come  from  afar,  the  rams  of  Nebaioth  and  the 
dromedaries  of  Midian,  and  that  all  the  nations  shall 
render  obeisance  to  our  Lord.  Believing,  we  shall 
lend  a  hand,  and  our  lives  will  tell  to  the  glory  of 
God. 

What  is  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter? 
"  Only  believe!  "  We  enter  the  kingdom  by  faith.  We 
walk  by  faith.  The  just  shall  live  by  faith.  All 
things  are  possible  to  him  that  believeth.     "  He  came 


DISABLED    BY    UNBELIEF.  255 

unto  his  own  and  his  own  received  him  not ;  but  to 
as  many  as  received  him,  to  them  he  gave  power  to 
become  the  sons  of  God  ;  even  to  them  that  believe  on 
his  name,  which  were  born  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the 
will  of  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God." 


THE  STORY  OF  THREE  WOULD-BE 

DISCIPLES. 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  as  they  went  in  the  way,  a  certain  man  said  unto 
him,  Lord,  I  will  follow  thee  whithersoever  thou  fjoest.  And  Jesus  said 
unto  him,  Foxes  have  holes,  and  birds  t.f  the  air  have  nests  ;  but  the 
•^on  of  man  hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head.  And  he  said  unto  another. 
Follow  me  But  he  said.  Lord,  suffer  me  first  to  go  and  bury  my  father. 
Jesus  said  unto  him,  Let  the  dead  bury  their  dead  ;  but  go  th  ju  and  preach 
the  kingdom  of  God.  And  another  also  said.  Lord,  I  will  follow  thee ; 
but  let  me  first  eo  bid  them  farewell,  which  are  at  home  at  my  house. 
And  Jesus  said  unto  him.  No  man,  having  put  his  hand  to  the  plough,  and 
loolcing  back,  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God." — L\jke  ix.  57-62. 

Down  from  the  north  came  James  I.  to  take  the 
English  crown.  He  was  gorgeously  arrayed  and  the 
horse  upon  which  he  rode  was  gaily  caparisoned. 
With  him  rode  a  considerable  company  of  enthusias- 
tic friends  and  partisans.  At  frequent  intervals  he 
paused  to  address  admiring  crowds  of  rustics  drawn 
up  along  the  way.  Here  and  there,  being  in  a  most 
kindly  humor,  he  was  pleased  to  lay  his  sword  on  the 
shoulder  of  a  country  squire  and  bid  him  rise  a  belted 
knight.  The  days  were  spent  in  pleasant  converse, 
the  nights  in  revelry.  So  with  much  pomp  and  cir- 
cumstance the  retinue  came  at  length  to  London 
town.  Then  the  king,  amid  enthusiastic  greetings 
and  acclamations,  proceeded  to  Westminster  where 
the  sceptre  and  the  anointing  oil  awaited  him. 

Down  from  the  north  came  another  king  to  claim 
his  own, — the   King  of  Kings  and  Lords  of    Lords, 

(256) 


THE    STORY    OF    THREE    WOULD-BE    DISCIPLE?.      257 

though  wearing  a  disguise  of  flesh.  He  was  clad  in 
homespun  and  journeyed  afoot.  No  enthusiastic 
crowds  attended  him  ,  only  a  little  group  of  fisher- 
men and  other  toilers,  humble,  unlettered,  unnoticed 
by  the  world.  Day  after  day  he  trudged  wearily  on, 
pausing  only  to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
the  kingdom  or  to  work  miracles  of  kindness;  at  night, 
dusty  and  worn,  he  rested  under  the  canopy  of  heaven. 
He  had  "set  his  face  steadfastly  to  go  to  Jerusalem" 
to  a  crown  of  thorns,  a  baptism  of  blood.  He  knew 
what  awaited  him; — the  treachery,  the  loneliness,  the 
nails,  the  fever,  the  death  anguish,  the  heart-break. 
Yet  he  went  on.  What  volumes  of  heroism  are  in  that 
word  "steadfastly."  It  would  appear  that  he  was 
inspired,  almost  transfigured,  by  the  anticipation  of 
his  sacrifice  ;  for  it  is  written  that  as  they  journeyed 
his  disciples  "feared,"  "wondered,"  "were  amazed." 

Not  a  few  of  the  pilgrims,  who  were  at  this  time 
journeying  to  Jerusalem  to  attend  the  passover  feast, 
fell  in  with  this  little  company,  and,  impressed  by  the 
majesty  of  Jesus'  work  and  teaching,  were  moved  to 
follow  him.  Among  those  who  thus  presented  them- 
selves were  three  aspirants,  who  received  special  men- 
tion probably  because  they  were  generic  types.  All 
three  expressed  a  desire  to  become  his  disciples,  but 
we  know  not  that  any  one  of  them  ultimately  fol- 
lowed him. 

The  Lord  wanted  friends  and  adherents.  He  had 
come  the  long  journey  from  heaven,  to  win  souls  from 
the  pursuit  of  temporal  things  to  the  higher  life. 
But  there  must  be  no  misunderstanding  ;  he  would 
make  no  alluring  promises,  to  be  followed  by  disap- 
pointment. When  Mohammed  was  pushing  his  vic- 
torious campaign,    he  recruited    his  army  by  giving 


258       THE    STORY    OF    THREE    WOULD-BE    DISCIPLES. 

assurance  of  all  kinds  of  honors  and  emoluments 
here,  or,  in  case  of  death  in  battle,  a  sensuous 
heaven,  with  gardens  and  fountains  and  wine  and 
houris  and  an  eternity  of  luxurious  ease.  Not  so 
our  Saviour.  He  made  a  frank  presentment  of  the 
case,  saying,  "  If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let 
him  deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me." 
And  again,  "  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take  my  yoke 
upon  you  and  learn  of  me  ;  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly 
in  heart  ;  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls.  For 
my  yoke  is  easy,  and  my  burden  is  light." 

The  first  of  these  aspirants  for  discipleship  may  be 
characterized  as  the  impulsive  man.  ''  Lord,  I  will  fol- 
low thee,"  he  cried,  "  withersoever  thou  goest." 
He  had  seen  Christ's  miracles,  had  heard  his  dis- 
courses, had  marked  the  unmistakable  tokens  of  Mes- 
sianic dignity  in  him  and  could  not  restrain  himself; 
"I  will  follow  thee  withersoever  thou  goest."  And 
whither  was  that  ?  To  circles  of  influence,  to  splen- 
did victories  over  his  adversaries,  to  a  glorious  reign 
in  Jerusalem  ?  Nay.  Let  him  know  the  truth.  This 
Christ  was  going  to  self-denial,  to  suffering,  to  the 
sacrifice  of  the  cross.  The  man's  bright  dreams 
are  all  illusive.  One  word  will  dash  them  :  "  Foxes 
have  holes,  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests,  but  the 
Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head." 

It  was  as  if  the  Lord  had  said,  "Nay;  stop  and 
think.  Do  nothing  hastily,  ponder  it  well,  first  count 
the  cost,  and  then  come."  The  first  and  greatest  duty 
(jf  every  man  is  to  think  on  the  great  problems  that 
reach  forth  into  the  endless  life.  If  amid  the  care 
and  hurry  of  earthly  pursuits  we  would  only  turn 
aside    to    think,    to    ponder   on    the    great    verities, 


THE    STORY    OF    THREE    WOULD-BE    DISCIPLES.       259 

we  should  all  perforce  cast  in  our  lot  with  the  fol- 
lowers of  Christ.  In  the  second  century  the  pagan 
philosopher  Athenagoras  was  moved  to  write  a  phil- 
ippic against  the  Christian  religion.  "  But,"  said 
he,  "  I  will  know  the  facts  to  begin  with."  He 
looked  into  the  face  of  Jesus  ;  and  its  beauty  grew 
upon  him  more  and  more  until  it  seemed  the  chiefest 
among  ten  thousand  and  altogether  lovely.  In  vain 
did  he  seek  for  a  joint  in  the  harness  of  Christ's 
character.  His  works  were  all  kindness,  his  dis- 
courses were  all  truth.  As  he  looked  upon  him,  he 
also  "feared,"  "wondered,"  "was  amazed";  and  he 
concluded  by  writing  an  elaborate  and  convincing 
defence  of  the  religion  of  the  prophet  of  Nazareth. 
If  the  multitudes  who  are  wont  to  regard  Jesus  as  a 
root  out  of  a  dry  ground  without  form  or  comeliness, 
would  do  likewise,  they  also  would  end  by  loving  and 
serving  him. 

No  sooner  do  we  begin  to  consider  frankly  the 
gospel,  than  we  find  ourselves  face  to  face  with  three 
things  :  ( r)  ^  tnighty  claim.  A  claim  which  at  the  out- 
set seems  preposterous  ;  for  this  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
sets  himself  up  as  the  veritable  Son  of  God.  He  pro- 
fesses to  be  the  fulfiller  of  all  those  prophecies  of 
the  old  economy  which  pointed  forward  to  the  incar- 
nation of  Deity  ;  such  as,  "  A  virgin  shall  conceive 
and  bear  a  son  and  call  his  name  Immanuel  ;  which 
is,  being  interpreted,  God  with  us"  ;  and,  "He  shall 
be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  Mighty  God,  the 
Everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace."  He  pre- 
sents himself  to  us  as  that  Word  which  was  in  the 
beginning  with  God  and  which  was  God  and  of  whom 
it  is  written,  "The  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  us  ;  and  we  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  of  the 


26o       THE    STORY    OF    THREE    WOULD-BE    DISCIPLES. 

only  begotten  of  the  Father."  He  alone  is  Thean- 
thropos,  the  God-man.  Great  is  the  mystery  of  god- 
liness, God  manifest  in  flesh.  This  claim  must  either 
be  allowed  or  denied  ;  there  is  no  middle  course.  If 
it  be  denied,  then  Jesus  must  be  denounced  as  an  im- 
postor. If  it  be  allowed,  then  we  must  of  necessity 
bow  down  before  him,  saying,  "  My  Lord  and  my 
God."  (2)  An  eternal  issue.  Here  is  the  sealing  of 
our  destiny.  This  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to 
suffer  and  to  die  for  sinners  ;  "  He  was  wounded  for 
our  transgressions  and  bruised  for  our  iniquities,  and 
by  his  stripes  we  are  healed."  "He  that  believeth 
shall  be  saved  ;  he  that  believeth  not,  shall  be 
damned."  "  He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  ever- 
lasting life ;  he  that  believeth  not,  is  condemned 
already  ;  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  upon  him."  If 
these  things  are  so,  the  cross  stands  at  the  parting  of 
the  ways.  Yonder  is  the  broad  way  leading  out  into 
the  endless  night,  and  here  is  the  narrow  way  along 
which  pass  the  multitude  in  white  robes,  washed  in 
his  blood,  sinners  saved  by  grace,  toward  the  open 
gates  of  heaven  and  the  endless  day.  To  deny  Christ, 
therefore,  ij  the  unpardonable  sin  because  it  closes 
the  only  door  of  escape  from  death.  The  question, 
therefore,  is  one  of  supreme  moment  to  every  man. 
(3)  A  tremendous  venture.  To  follow  Christ  means 
the  consecration  of  everything  to  him.  Let  a  man 
ponder  well,  act  with  deliberation,  and  yet  make  no 
delay.  In  financial  circles  it  is  the  custom  for  men, 
who  invest  in  one  speculation,  to  "hedge"  by  invest- 
ing in  others  also,  so  that  everything  may  not  be  lost 
in  case  of  reverse.  But  there  is  no  hedging  in  this 
matter.  A  wise  ship-owner  will  never  put  all  his 
wealth  into  a  single  vessel,  but  divides  it  among  several, 


THE    STORY    OF    THREE    WOULD-BE    DISCIPLES.       26 1 

SO  tliat  if  one  cargo  is  lost  in  shipwreck,  he  ma}^  still 
have  something  left.  But  there  is  no  reserve  in  this 
matter.  I  know  a  man  who,  being  interested  in  a 
Colorado  mine,  tried  to  save  his  investment  by  put- 
ting in  more  and  more  until  all  his  possessions  were 
involved.  And  when  the  calamity  came,  he  spoke  of 
himself  as  a  fool  for  thus  risking  all  in  one  venture. 
Paul,  also,  called  himself  a  fool  for  Jesus'  sake  in  that 
he  had  given  up  all  for  him.  In  fact,  however,  this 
was  no  venture,  this  was  no  speculation,  but  a  very 
surety.  '"No  man,"  said  the  Master,  "hath  given  up 
aught  for  my  sake  and  the  gospel's,  but  that  he  shall 
receive  an  hundred-fold  in  this  present  time  and  in 
the  time  to  come  life  everlasting." 

These  are  some  of  the  things  for  impulsive  people 
to  ponder  well.  Let  it  be  remembered,  however, 
that  thinking  does  not  involve  protracted  delay.  The 
interests  involved  are  such  that  our  deliberations 
should  bring  us  to  a  speedy  conclusion.  He  that  had 
not  where  to  lay  his  head  calls  us  to  enter  into  fel- 
lowship with  him  in  devotion  to  truth  and  righteous- 
ness. The  only  question  is  whether  his  demand  is 
right  and  reasonable ;  that  being  ascertciined,  the 
part  of  a  true  man  is  forthwith  to  comply  with  it. 

The  second  oi  the  aspirants  for  discipleship  was 
the  dilatory  man.  He  had  met  with  bereavement  and 
his  face  bore  the  traces  of  sorrow.  The  Lord  saw 
that  face  and  had  compassion,  saying  in  himself 
"This  man  is  under  a  burden  ;  my  gospel  will  help 
him  to  bear  it."  Therefore,  he  took  the  initiative  and 
said  to  him,  "Come  and  follow  me."  Just  as  he  has 
done  with  us  perhaps,  speaking  to  us  with  a  still, 
small  voice  when  we  were  lying  on  a  bed  of  languish- 
ing or  sore-hearted  under  afHiction,  saying,  "Come, 


262       THE    STORY    OF    THREE    WOULD-BE    DISCIPLES. 

and  I  will  give  you  rest."  And  this  man  answered 
what?  "I  will  follow  thee,  but  let  me  first  go  and 
bury  my  father." 

Aye,  there's  the  trouble.  We  are  all  hoping  to 
follow  Christ,  but  must  '*  first  "  do  this  or  first  do  that; 
but  the  Master  knows  no  first  but  this,  "  Seek  ye  first 
the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness." 

But  was  it  not  hard  that  this  man  could  not  go  and 
bury  his  father  ?  To  do  that  was,  as  we  say,  paying  a 
debt  of  nature.  Yes,  but  the  Master's  call  suggested 
a  debt  of  grace,  which  was  far  greater.  Wherefore 
he  said,  "Let  the  dead  bury  their  dead  ;  but  go  thou 
and  preach  the  gospel."  Let  those  who  are  in  the 
bonds  of  nature  discharge  the  debts  of  nature.  The 
greater  must  ever  overtop  the  less.  Had  this  man 
attended  to  the  obsequies  of  his  father  accordmg  to 
the  Jewish  custom,  it  would  have  meant  seven  days 
of  wailing  ;  meanwhile  Jesus  was  journeying  on. 

We  are  all  coming; — all  meaning  to  come  to  Christ, 
but  not  just  now.  We  can  hear  the  voice  of  the 
mother  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  in  the  old  home, 
calling  to  us  in  the  early  morning  to  come.  The 
chores  must  be  done,  the  breakfast  was  ready,  it 
was  time  to  be  thinking  of  the  satchel  and  the  school. 
"  Children,  come  !  "  And  from  our  beds  weanswered, 
"  Coming  !  "  and  said  within  ourselves,  "  Yet  a  little 
sleep,  a  little  slumber,  a  little  folding  of  the  hands  to 
sleep,"  till  from  the  foot  of  the  stairs  came  another, 
the  father's  voice  this  time,  calling,  "  Come  now  !  " 
and  there  was  authority  in  it.  So  is  the  voice  of  the 
great  Father,  "Come  now!" 

But  wh}'- come  «<?«'.?  For  these  reasons.  {1)  Christ 
is  passing  by.  He  does  not  linger.  He  is  ever  on  a 
journey.     We   hear   his    footsteps   coming   near,   as 


THE    STORY    OF    THREE    WOULD-BE    DISCIPLES.      263 

Bartimaeus  at  the  gate  of  Jericho  heard  them,  and 
his  voice  as  he  bends  over  us,  "  Arise  and  follow  me." 
Already  he  is  going,  the  voice  grows  fainter,  the  foot- 
steps are  almost  hushed  ;  the  conscience  that  troubled 
us  once,  troubles  us  no  more  ;  no  more  longings  and 
aspirations  ;  less  and  less  of  the  fearful  looking  for  of 
judgment ;  more  and  more  of  content  with  the  beg- 
garly elements  of  this  world.  The  sound  of  the  foot- 
steps is  hushed  ;  Jesus  of  Nazareth  has  passed  by. 

(2)  The  work  commands ;  the  work  which  is  ap- 
pointed to  you  and  me.  God  is  busy  ;  as  the  Master 
said,  '*  My  Father  worketh  hitherto  and  I  work."  What 
is  he  doing?  Saving  the  world.  And  in  this  great  work 
he  has  appointed  you  and  me  a  part.  "Why  stand 
ye  idle  all  the  day  ?  Lift  up  your  eyes  and  look  on  the 
fields,  they  are  white  already  for  the  harvest.  Thrust 
in  the  sickle  and  reap.  Go  work  to-day."  In  a  cor- 
ner of  the  field  where  the  harvest  is  plenteous,  there 
is  a  place  unreaped  ;  unreaped,  because  my  sickle  is 
not  there.  God's  temple  is  rising  ;  a  great  multitude 
of  his  people  are  laying  stone  upon  stone  ;  but  there 
is  one  place  in  the  wall  which  remains  unbuilt;  a  trowel 
is  there  unused  because  your  hand  has  not  grasped 
it.  The  army  of  the  cross  goes  marching  on,  con- 
quering and  to  conquer  ;  in  the  great  roster  there  is 
a  place  for  a  name,  but  no  name  there  ;  it  was  left 
for  you  and  still  you  hesitate.  Every  moment  of  de- 
lay means  something  undone  that  should  be  done  ;  a 
command  unheeded,  a  call  rejected,  an  opportunity 
despised,  a  debt  protested  and  unpaid. 

(3)  The  sands  are  falling  in  the  hourglass.  Life 
is  but  an  handbreadth,  an  arrow  speeding  to 
its  mark,  a  swift  ship,  an  eagle  hastening  to  its 
prey,    a    tale    told.      So    teach    us    to    number  our 


264       THE    STORY    OF    THREE    WOULD-BE    DISCIPLES. 

days  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom. 
To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice  !  In  the  company  of 
the  French  literati  there  is  no  name  more  brilliant 
than  Guy  de  Maupassant,  prematurely  dead.  Owing 
to  the  disreputable  character  of  his  productions,  the 
French  Academy  had  refused  to  affix  its  imprimatur 
to  his  work.  He  said,  "The  Academy  would  con- 
demn me  to  virtue,  but  there  is  plenty  of  time  for  vir- 
tue." The  words  had  scarcely  passed  from  his  lips 
before  he  was  seized  with  that  melancholy  madness 
which  ended  his  life.  No,  no;  if  we  have  work  to  do, 
now  is  the  time  to  attend  to  it.  Time  and  tide  wait 
for  no  man.     Let  us  be  wise  to-day. 

The  //i/r^  aspirant  was  the  double-minded  man.  He 
said,  "  I  will  follow  thee,  Lord,  but  suffer  me  first  to 
say  farewell  to  those  at  home."  A  reasonable  request 
surely.  Home,  the  dear  mother's  face,  all  the  sweet 
associations  of  the  domestic  circle.  What  harm  in 
going  back  to  say  farewell  ?  But  there  is  never  a 
conflict  of  duties  and  duty  never  waits  on  comfort  or 
convenience.  "  If  a  man  love  home,  kindred,  friends 
better  than  me,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple."  Where- 
fore, the  Lord  replied,  "  He  that  putteth  his  hand  to 
the  plough  and  looketh  back,  is  not  fit  for  the  king- 
dom." There  is  no  room  for  a  divided  service.  The 
oriental  plough  was  merely  a  crooked  stick  sharpened 
at  the  share.  A  man  must  guide  it  carefully  and  give 
all  attention  to  his  task,  or  else  he  would  make  a  zig- 
zag furrow — just  such  a  furrow  as  the  double-minded 
man  always  makes  of  his  life. 

Let  it  be  observed,  (i)  that  the  supreme  considera- 
tion always  is  duty.  Duty  is  debt,  the  very  same  word; 
but  duty  is  above  all  other  debts  in  that  it  is  an  ob- 
ligation owed  to  God.     Duty  means  life,   character. 


THE    STORY    OF    THREE    WOULD-BE    DISCIPLES.      265 

usefulness,  eternal  peace.  All  else  dwindles  in  com- 
parison with  it.  Let  it  be  observed  also  (2)  that  the 
only  way  to  enter  upon  this  life  of  duty  is  fy  complete  sur- 
render to  it.  At  the  siege  of  Fort  Donaldson,  when 
General  Buckner  proposed  an  armistice,  General 
Grant  replied,  "  There  is  no  reason  for  an  armistice. 
I  propose  to  move  immediately  upon  your  works; 
my  terms  are  unconditional  surrender."  Uncondi- 
tional surrender  ;  time,  talents,  possessions,  energy, 
everything.  God  bids  us  lay  them  down  before  his 
altar  a  living  sacrifice. 

"  Jesus,  I  my  cross  have  taken, 
All  to  leave  and  follow  thee." 

And  observe  still  further  that  having  entered  upon 
this  life  of  duty,  (3)  there  must  be  no  looking  back.  Our 
faces  must  be  set  as  steadfastly  as  the  face  of  Jesus, 
toward  the  responsibilities  before  us.  Remember 
Lot's  wife.  Curiously  enough  it  was  this  very  long- 
ing to  say  farewell  to  home  that  ruined  her.  What 
harm  in  one  backward  glance?  But  the  word  was, 
"  Flee  for  your  life,  escape  to  the  mountains,  look  not 
behind  you."  The  pilgrim  who  fled  from  the  City  of 
Destruction,  thrust  his  fingers  into  his  ears  and  cried 
as  he  ran,  "  Life  !  Life  !  Eternal  life  !  "  If  we  would 
make  a  success  of  our  holy  endeavor,  good  friends, 
let  us  take  leave  of  sin  and  selfishness.  Laying  aside 
all  encumbering  weights  and  everything  that  hinders, 
let  us  reach  forth  unto  the  things  that  are  before, 
looking  unto  Jesus.     This  one  thing  I  do. 

The  curtain  falls  upon  the  story  of  these  aspirants. 
We  have  no  means  of  knowing  what  became  of  tliem. 
But  there  were  others  who,  with  an  undivided  heart, 
went  following  after  Christ.  There  were  those 
humble  fishermen,  John  and  James  and   Peter  and 


266       THE    STORY    OF    THREE    WOULD  BE    DISCIPLES. 

the  others,  who  had  left  their  nets  and  boats  and  all. 
"And  what  shall  we  receive?"  asked  they.  "An 
hundredfold  here,"  he  answered,  "and  in  the  time  to 
come  life  everlasting."  It  may  be  that  we  shall  see 
them  presently  in  the  streets  of  the  heavenly  city,  and 
if  we  ask  them  whether  they  regret  the  sacrifice  they 
made  for  Jesus'  sake,  what  will  they  answer?  What 
can  they  answer  in  that  land  where  gold  is  no  more 
than  the  pavement  of  the  streets,  and  God  is  light, 
and  righteousness  is  the  meat  and  drink  of  all  the 
immortals  ?  In  the  church  of  San  Stephano  at  Rome 
there  is  a  series  of  panels  representing  the  deaths  of 
the  apostles.  Here  is  James  bowing  his  head  under 
the  gleaming  axe  ;  here  is  Peter  head  downward  on 
the  cross  ;  here  is  another  being  cast  in  a  caldron  of 
boiling  oil  ;  and  there  a  fourth  facing  the  lions.  And 
this  was  what  they  received  for  their  surrender  of 
all?  Nay,  not  this.  The  milk  and  honey  lie  beyond 
the  wilderness.  Life  everlasting  !  Heaven  is  full  of 
those  who  have  come  up  out  of  the  great  tribulation 
and  among  them  all  there  is  not  one  who  regrets  his 
choice  ;  nor  is  there  one  here  upon  the  earth  who  has 
entered  into  the  full  fellowship  of  the  service  of  Christ, 
who  does  not  sing  with  heart  and  understanding, 

"  O  happy  day,  that  fixed  my  choice 
On  thee,  my  Saviour  and  my  God." 


BY  THE  BROOK  IN  THE  GORGE. 

"  Get  thee  hence,  and  turn    thee   eastward,  and   hide   thyself  by   the  brook 
Cherith  that  is  before  Jordan."— I.  Kings  xvii.  3. 

The  time  of  our  narrative  is  the  darkest  hour  in 
the  history  of  Israel.  Ahab  was  on  the  throne  ;  a 
man  of  brutal  instincts  and  under  the  capricious 
domination  of  a  strong-minded  woman,  whose  name 
is  a  synonym  for  all  that  is  base  and  unwomanly. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  a  pagan  priest  and  had  in- 
troduced the  worship  of  the  Phoenician  gods.  On 
all  the  hill-tops  were  the  altars  of  Baal  and  the  unclean 
Ashtoreth.  Clouds  and  darkness  covered  the  land. 
The  people  forgot  the  Lord  who  had  delivered  them 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  and  the  house  of  bondage  ; 
and  they  were  given  over  to  their  own  foolish  imag- 
inations. 

On  a  sudden,  from  the  distant  mountains  of 
Gilead  came  Elijah,  a  son  of  the  desert,  nourished 
amid  the  rocks  and  tempests.  His  appearance  was 
like  that  of  a  meteor  in  the  night. 

"  He  stood  in  Ahab's  ivory  hall  ; 

His  cloak  the  skin  of  mountain  goat,  his  robe  a  mohair  pall. 
His  garb  around  his  sinewy  loins  a  rawhide  belt  confined  ; 
His  hair  and  beard,  like  raven  plumes,  streamed  dark  along 

the  wind. 
A  strong   acacia's  spiky   stem,  scarce  smoothed,  was   in  his 

hand  ; 
His  feet  were  fleshless,  callous,  bare,  and  tawny  as  the  sand  ; 

(267) 


268         BY  THE  BROOK  IN  THE  GORGE. 

His  brow,  a   soaring  crag,  o'erhung   his    swart  and   shaggy 

chest, 
And  'neath  its  shades  his  eyes  gleamed  keen  as  eagles'  from 

their  nest." 

As  he  Stood  at  the  threshold  of  the  palace,  his  words 
were  few  :  "  As  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  liveth,  there 
shall  be  no  rain  nor  dew,  but  according  to  my  word!  " 

In  the  confusion  of  the  startled  court  he  escaped, 
no  one  knew  whither.  The  king  and  his  attendants 
were  left  trembling  at  the  awful,  almost  forgot- 
ten name,  "The  Lord  God  of  Israel."  But  why- 
should  they  heed  the  maundering  of  a  mad  her- 
mit? No  dew  nor  rain  forsooth  but  according  to  his 
word!  These  are  foolish  fears.  But  that  night  no 
dew  fell,  and  the  next  day  it  did  not  rain.  Days  and 
nights  came  and  went,  and  there  was  neither  rain  nor 
dew.  The  clouds  swept  over,  barren  and  dry  as 
fleece.  The  fields  were  burnt  ;  the  herds  and  flocks 
went  lowing  and  bleating  in  vain  for  v/ater.  The 
brooks  murmured  lower  and  lower  to  their  pebbly 
beds.  No  rain!  no  dew!  The  scourge  was  on  them 
like  a  fever  now  ;  the  heavens  were  as  brass  ;  the  wind 
swept  by  in  furious  gusts.  Men  and  women,  gaunt 
and  hollow-eyed,  reminded  each  other  of  the  hermit's 
word.  A  year  went  by.  Two  years.  Three  years. 
No  rain!  no  dew! 

In  the  meantime,  what  had  become  of  Elijah  ?  He 
had  taken  refuge  by  the  brook  of  the  gorge.  On 
every  side  the  mountains  shut  him  in.  Here  in  the 
solitude  he  was  left  to  find  tongues  in  trees,  sermons 
in  stones,  books  in  the  running  brooks.  No  sound 
but  the  scream  of  the  eagle  wheeling  on  poised  wings 
to  its  eyrie,  or  the  rattling  of  stones  along  the  moun- 
tain side,  loosed  by  the  foot  of  the  wild  goat,  or  the 


BY    THE    BROOK    IN    THE    GORGE,  269 

murmur  of  the  brook.  There  are  so  many  kinds  of 
voices  in  the  world,  and  none  of  them  is  without  sig- 
nification. 

But  why  should  this  tnan  have  been  secluded  at  an  hour  so 
critical, — this  man  who  alone  could  have  lifted  a  voice  of 
stern  rebuke,  who  alone  had  the  courage  to  tear  down 
the  high  places  and  scatter  the  altar  fires  of  Baal  ? 

I.  God  had  placed  the  prophet  here  because  He  would 
take  care  of  him  and  preserve  him  for  usefulness  farther 
on.  He  was  sheltered  here  as  securely  as  in  the  hol- 
low of  God's  hand.  In  vain  did  Ahab  send  out  his 
spies,  bidding  them  go  find  the  man  that  troubled 
Israel.  Up  and  down  the  land  they  sought  for  Elijah, 
but  found  him  not. 

In  1755,  in  the  battle  in  which  General  Braddock 
was  defeated  and  mortally  wounded,  after  five  horses 
had  been  shot  under  him,  when  sixty-three  out  of 
eighty-six  English  officers  were  killed  and  more  than 
one-half  of  the  rank  and  file  left  dead  upon  the  field, 
there  was  one  young  officer  who  seemed  to  have  a 
charmed  life.  A  savage,  who  was  afterwards  cap- 
tured, said  that  he  had  aimed  at  this  young  Lieutenant 
no  less  than  seventeen  times  without  effect,  "  But," 
he  added,  "  the  Great  Spirit  protected  him."  This 
young  man  was  George  Washington,  for  whom  a 
glorious  work  was  waiting,  and  it  was  true  that  God 
held  him  in  His  protecting  care.  And  this  is  but  the 
statement  of  the  general  law,  that  a  man  is  immortal 
till  his  work  is  done. 

The  man  who  sat  beside  the  brook  Cherith  had 
two  firm  friends  to  bear  him  company.  One  was  a 
good  conscience.  What  are  all  the  whips  and  scorns  of 
time?  What  are  all  the  slings  and  arrows  of  out- 
rageous fortune  ?     What  are  all  the  ills  that  human 


270  BY  THE  BROOK  IN  THE  GORGE. 

flesh  is  heir  to,  if  a  man  can  say,  "  I  know  that  I  am 
doing  right  "  ?  And  his  other  friend  was  an  acquies- 
cent willy  a  readiness  to  mingle  in  the  open  conflict  or 
to  abide  in  solitude  just  as  his  Master  pleased. 

On  the  public  green  at  New  Haven  are  three  in- 
conspicuous graves  where  lie  the  bodies  of  Goffe, 
Whalley  and  Dixwell,  the  regicides  who,  obeying  the 
dictates  of  conscience,  sentenced  Charles  I.  to  death. 
For  this,  in  the  time  of  the  Restoration,  they  were 
driven  beyond  the  sea  and  hunted  like  partridges 
over  the  hills.  They  lived  in  disguise  and  under  as- 
sumed names,  bearing  about  with  them,  for  their 
comfort,  only  the  strong  assurance  that  they  had 
done  their  duty,  until  one  by  one  they  were  buried  in 
these  humble  graves.  But  a  mile  away  there  is 
another  spot  that  tells  the  story  of  their  fearless 
faith, — a  cave  on  West  Rock  where  these  men  spent 
days  and  nights  in  shelter.  On  the  wall  of  this  cave 
you  may  see  rudely  inscribed  by  their  unskilled 
hands,  "Resistance  to  tyrants  is  obedience  to  God." 

This  was  the  prophet's  strength.  As  he  dwelt 
here  in  the  solitude,  he  knew  that  God  had  not  for- 
gotten him.  There  was  water  for  his  thirst,  the 
ravens  fed  him,  and  the  brook  as  it  flowed  by  kept 
murmuring,  "Trust  in  the  Lord  and  do  good,  so 
shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be 
fed." 

II,  God  had  furthermore  put  Elijah  in  this  secret  place 
to  get  him  out  of  the  7vay  ;  for  the  prophet  had  come  to 
have  a  great  opinion  of  himself .  He  felt  that  he  alone 
was  left,  faithful  among  the  faithless,  to  uphold  the 
true  religion.  When  Alexander  T.  Stewart,  the 
merchant  prince,  was  remonstrated  with  for  discharg- 
ing an  old  and  trusted  employe,  he  gave  this  reason, 


BY    THE    BROOK    IN    THE    GORGE. 


271 


"  Whenever  a  man  thinks  himself  to  be  indispensable, 
I  make  it  a  rule  to  discharge  him."  The  Lord  some- 
times turns  his  servants  aside  for  a  like  reason,  that 
he  may  teach  them  their  proper  place.  The  evangel- 
ist Philip  was  sent  away  from  Samaria  when  the 
great  revival  was  at  its  height  ;  the  word  being,  "Go 
down  along  the  way  to  Gaza,  which  is  desert."  It 
is  well  for  us  to  learn  the  lesson  that  God  was  able 
to  manage  the  affairs  of  this  world  before  we  came 
upon  the  scene  and  will  be  able  to  get  along  some- 
how when  we  have  passed  from  it. 

This  prophet  had  made  agreat  prayer.  The  Apostle 
James  refers  to  it  thus  :  "  The  effectual  fervent  prayer 
of  a  righteous  man  availeth  much."  And  then  pro- 
ceeds to  illustrate  by  saying,  "Elias  was  a  man  sub- 
ject to  like  passions  as  we  are,  and  he  prayed 
earnestly  that  it  might  not  rain  :  and  it  rained  not  on 
the  earth  by  the  space  of  three  years  and  six  months." 
A  great  prayer  and  an  awful  answer  !  What  now 
could  the  prophet  do  ?  He  had  brought  down  a 
famine  upon  the  land  and  matters  were  quite  beyond 
him.  He  was  like  a  child  who  draws  the  wedge  that 
sends  the  ship  sliding  from  its  cradle  down  into  the 
sea  ;  the  child  can  do  no  more,  it  has  put  that  ship 
into  the  grip  of  the  elements,  has  given  it  a  place  in 
the  vast  commerce  of  the  globe,  has  sent  it  forth  to 
wrestle  with  tides  and  tempests.  So  was  it  with 
Elijah.  If  he  climbed  the  heights  and  looked  toward 
the  west,  he  might  see  the  roofs  of  Jezreel.  The 
people  there  were  starving,  muttering  incoherently, 
cursing  God  and  dying.  Here  was  a  state  of  things 
wherein  Elijah  could  not  be  trusted.  Had  he  been 
there  he  would  have  said,  "  This  has  gone  far  enough  ; 
let  the  suffering  cease."     But  God  had  a  great  lesson 


272  BY  THE  BROOK  IN  THE  GORGE. 

to  teach  ;  he  deals  with  centuries,  eternities ;  and 
to  the  task  he  brings  an  infinite  wisdom,  an  im- 
measurable justice,  an  illimitable  love.  All  things 
are  naked  and  open  before  him.  All  the  roofs  are 
lifted  ;  he  sees  every  suffering  child,  all  the  sorrows 
and  all  the  shame.  He  knows  the  wars  and  pesti- 
lences, the  wrongs  and  persecutions.  There  are 
thoughtless  and  irreverent  souls  who  say,  "  If  I  were 
God,  these  things  should  not  be."  But  he  who 
reigneth  in  light  and  glory  unapproachable,  per- 
ceives the  end  from  the  beginning.  He  cannot  trust 
Elijah,  nor  can  he  trust  you,  nor  me,  to  manage  for 
him.  Had  such  a  thought  entered  the  prophet's 
mind,  the  brook  that  flowed  beside  him  must  have 
murmured  its  reproof  :  "  Be  still  and  know  that  I  am 
God." 

ni.  Still  further;  the  prophet  was  placed  in  this  soli- 
tude in  order  that  he  might  learn  a  religious  truth 
which  we  are  generally  slow  to  grasp,  to-wit,  the 
doctrine  of  Special  Providence.  It  ought  scarcely  be 
necessary  to  say  that  the  feeding  of  this  prophet  in 
his  extremity  was  of  a  purely  miraculous  character. 
There  is,  however,  a  class  of  exegetes,  such  as  busy 
themselves  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  eliminate  the 
supernatural  from  Holy  AVrit,  who  explain  the  matter 
by  saying  that  he  climbed  the  rocks  and  took  his  sus- 
tenance from  the  ravens'  nests.  And  there  are  others 
who  say  that  there  were  no  ravens  in  the  case,  but  that 
the  word  orebini  should  be  rendered  "  arabs  "  the  fact 
being  that  the  prophet  was  fed  by  Bedouins  who  hap- 
pened that  way  in  their  journeyings,  or  came  thither 
to  drink.  And  there  are  still  others  who  say  that 
there  was  a  village  called  Oreb  near  the  Cherith  and 
that  its    inhabitants  provided  for  him.     To  what  ex- 


BY    THE    BROOK    IN    THE    GORGE.  273 

tremity  are  they  driven  who  refuse  to  believe  in  any- 
thing that  lies  beyond  their  finger  tips  !  A  recent 
writer,  who  calls  himself  a  broad-church  Episcopalian, 
has  gone  so  far  as  to  assert  that  the  miracles  of  Jesus 
were  wrought  under  hypnotic  influence,  thus  making 
Christ  a  mere  impostor  and  mountebank.  How  pre- 
posterous for  such  a  man  to  profess,  in  any  sense 
whatever,  to  believe  in  Jesus  as  the  Christ  of  God. 

If  an  objection  had  been  entered  to  the  doctrine  of 
Special  Providence  in  the  presence  of  Elijah,  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  he  would  have  answered  in  some 
such  manner  as  this  :  "  I  went  down  to  the  brook  in 
the  gorge  and  wondered  how  provision  would  be 
made  for  me.  I  knelt  and  committed  myself  to  the 
divine  care  and  then  lay  down  and  slept.  When  I 
awoke  I  heard  the  rustle  of  wings  and  saw  some 
ravens  overhead  ;  by  my  side  lay  bread  and  flesh 
which  they  had  dropped  in  their  flight.  '  Strange  ! ' 
said  I  ;  and  kneeling  down  I  rendered  thanks.  As 
the  day  advanced,  I  wondered  how  the  good  God 
would  further  provide  for  me,  and  then  at  eventide 
the  ravens  came  again  and  left  the  bread  and  flesh. 
*  Passing  strange,'  said  I ;  *  a  marvellous  coincidence! ' 
On  the  next  morning  the  same  thing  happened,  and 
again  that  night,  and  day  after  day,  and  week  after 
week,  and  month  after  month,  and  for  more  than  a 
year,  as  regularly  as  ever  a  mother  spread  her  table  for 
her  children,  those  ravens  came  with  bread  and  flesh 
for  me.  As  I  thought  upon  this  in  solitude  it  was  an 
easy  matter  to  arrive  at  a  definite  conclusion  by  the 
calculation  of  chances.  It  seemed  to  me  as  millions 
to  one  that  the  ravens  had  not  merely  happened  to 
come  that  way.  There  must  have  been  some  one 
directing  their  flight.      Can  you  blame  me  then  if  I 


274         BY  THE  BROOK  IN  THE  GORGE. 

seem  to  live  with  the  supernatural  all  about  me  and 
would  you  not  regard  me  as  a  foolish  man,  were  I  to 
disbelieve  in  God  ?" 

The  proof  of  Special  Providence  is  not  always  so 
extraordinary  in  our  case  ;  yet,  we  are  constantly 
cared  for  by  supernatural  means.  Is  not  every 
answer  to  prayer  a  Special  Providence  ?  And  shall 
we  not  derive  from  this  a  lesson  of  simple  trust  in 
God  ?  He  provideth  for  all  their  meat  in  due  season. 
We  are  his  children.  The  little  people  do  not  fret  • 
they  do  not  say,  "  What  will  become  of  me  at 
noon?"  or,  "Where  will  my  dinner  come  from?" 
or,  "  Wherewithal  shall  I  be  clothed  ?  "  They  see 
the  father  going  out  in  the  morning  to  the  work- 
shop, and  the  mother  sitting  by  the  window  with 
her  needle,  and  they  know  that  all  will  be  right. 
Let  us  become  as  little  children  in  the  confidence  of 
faith.  Let  us  hear,  as  Elijah  heard,  the  brook 
Cherith  murmuring  past  him,  "  Consider  the  ravens, 
consider  the  lilies.  Are  ye  not  much  better  than 
they  ?  and  shall  not  your  Father  care  for  you  ? " 

But  we  shall  miss  the  mighty  lesson  after  all,  un- 
less at  the  close  of  this  narrative  we  find  ourselves 
standing  under  the  cross.  For  what  is  the  cross  but 
the  greatest  of  all  Special  Providences  ?  There  is  a 
straight  path  leading  from  the  brook  Cherith  to  the 
hill  Calvary.  All  is  supernatural  here.  The  same 
God  who  dispatched  the  ravens  to  the  relief  of  his 
prophet,  sent  forth  his  only  begotten  and  well- 
beloved  Son  to  suffer  for  us.  He  dies  yonder  that 
we  may  satisfy  the  hunger  of  our  souls  and  live  for- 
ever. The  hand  that  trembles  with  the  nail  at  its 
palm,  is  the  hand  of  God.  The  lips  that  are  parched 
with  the  last  fever,  are  the  lips  of  God.     The  heart 


BY    THE    BROOK    IN    THE    GORGE.  275 

that    sorrows    and  breaks   under  the   burden   of   the 
world's    sin,   is    the    heart    of    God.     Great    is     the 
mystery.     It   is  finished   and  he  dies.     Dead?     No, 
hear  !     There   is  singing  afar  yonder,  "  Lift  up  your 
heads,    O  ye  gates,   and  let  the  King  of  Glory  enter 
in."     There  is  the  sound  of  water  gushing  from  the 
rock.     There  is  the  voice  of  messengers  going  every- 
where and  calling,  "  Repent,  believe  and  enter  into 
life  !  "     Here    is  the  miracle  of  all  miracles.     Here  is 
the    Special   Providence     to     which   the    feeding  of 
Elijah  and  all  other  Special   Providences  direct  us. 
This  is  the  story  the  ravens  tell.     This  is  the  message 
the  brook  murmurs  :   "  There  is  a  God  and  he  careth 
for  us.     He   hath  put  all  nature  under  contribution, 
all  earth    and    heaven    too,  in  our  behalf.     He  hath 
made  bare  his  mighty    arm    to  save  us.     Wherefore 
no    goodness  on   his   part    is    incredible  ;    for   if   he 
spared  not  his  only  begotten  Son,  how   shall  he  not 
with  him   freely   give   us  ail  things  ?     He  hath  made 
the   mountains    to    be  a  refuge  for  his  people.     He 
hath  opened  the  fountain  of  life  :   Ho,  every  one  that 
thirsteth,  come  !     Let  him  that  heareth,  say.  Come  ; 
and   whosoever   will,  let  him   take  the  water  of  life 
freely." 


THE  OPEN  SEPULCHRE. 

"  And  the  angel  answered  and  said  unto  the  women,  Fear  not  ye  :  for  I  know 
that  ye  seek  Jesus,  which  was  crucified.  He  is  not  here  :  for  he  is  risen, 
as  he  said.    Come,  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay."^MATT.  xxviii.  5,  6. 

The  saddest  day  the  world  ever  saw,  was  that 
which  came  between  the  crucifixion  and  the  resurrec- 
tion of  our  Lord.  The  disciples  were  overwhelmed 
with  disappointment  and  sorrow.  They  had  hoped 
that  Jesus  was  he  which  should  redeem  Israel,  and 
lo,  He  lay  imprisoned  in  the  grave.  That  Saturday 
was  dies  non.  The  followers  of  Christ  had  no  heart 
for  any  toil  or  pleasure.  Peter  could  not  even  go 
a-fishing.  Out  yonder  in  Joseph's  garden  was  a  grave 
and  a  great  stone  was  rolled  upon  it,  and  the  seal  of 
the  Roman  Empire  was  affixed  to  it ;  and  within  that 
grave  lay  all  their  hopes  and  purposes  and  aspirations. 
The  sorrow  of  that  Saturday  was  afterwards  voiced 
by  one  of  the  apostles  in  these  words  :  "  If  Christ  be 
not  risen,  your  faith  is  vain  ;  ye  are  j/et  in  your  sins  ; 
then  they  also  which  are  fallen  asleep  in  Christ  are 
perished  ;  if  in  this  life  only  we  have  hope  in  Christ, 
we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable." 

There  is  an  old  cloister  under  Westminster  Abbey, 
which  for  centuries  has  been  used  as  the  burial  place 
of  kings.  There  lies  the  dust  of  Saxon  sovereigns 
who  died  a  thousand  years  ago.  A  few  years  since  a 
visitor,  absorbed  in  contemplation  of  old  epitaphs  and 

(276) 


THE    OPEN    SEPULCHRE.  277 

Other  memorials  of  mortality,  had  lost  all  conscious- 
ness of  time  ;  twilight  came  and  he  was  still  absorbed; 
suddenly  he  heard  the  shooting  of  distant  bolts,  and 
realized  that  evening  had  come  and  he  was  locked  in 
with  the  dead.  He  could  hear  the  sound  of  retreat- 
ing footsteps.  He  ran  to  the  great  oaken  door  and 
beat  upon  it.  He  cried  aloud.  Silence!  He  was  alone 
with  the  dust  of  the  mighty.  It  was  an  awful  night. 
The  next  morning  they  found  him  lying  senseless 
upon  the  pavement.  A  single  day  of  such  bewilder- 
ing anguish  the  world  knew  while  Jesus  lay  in  his 
sepulchre.  The  ruined  race  was  imprisoned  with  its 
dead.  The  dead  were  everywhere.  A  long  proces- 
sion had  been  passing  from  life  into  God's  acre  from 
the  infancy  of  time.  Kings  and  potentates  and  hum- 
ble folk  lay  under  the  pyramids,  on  the  shelves  of 
catacombs,  in  graveyards,  on  the  bottom  of  the  sea, 
or  swept  in  dust  clouds  over  the  desert.  They  had 
passed  in  endless  procession  under  the  lintel  of  the 
dungeon,  and,  last  of  all,  this  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  who 
had  claimed  to  be  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God. 

The  next  morning  bright  and  early,  a  woman 
threaded  her  way  along  the  streets  of  Joseph's  gar- 
den— a  broken-hearted  woman  ;  her  best  friend  was 
dead.  He  who  had  spoken  to  her  as  she  passed  along 
the  streets,  her  garments  bedraggled  in  the  mire,  her 
womanhood  all  soiled  with  sin,  saying,  "Come  unto 
me,  weary,  heavy-laden  one,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
He  had  dispossessed  her  of  the  Evil  One,  and  she 
loved  him  beyond  all  telling  ,  but  he,  alas  !  was  dead. 
And  there  fell  in  with  her  certain  other  women  who 
bore  spices  for  the  anointing,  and  they  said  :  "Who 
will  roll  us  away  the  stone  from  the  sepulchre?" 
But  as  they  drew  near,  behold,  the  stone  had  been 


278  THE    OPEN    SEPULCHRE. 

rolled  away  and  an  angel  spake  to  them  :  "  Ye  seek 
Jesus  which  was  crucified  :  he  is  not  here  ;  he  is  risen. 
Come,  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay."  Her  com- 
panions turned  and  ran  to  carry  the  tidings,  but  she, 
lingering,  heard  a  voice,  "  Why  weepest  thou  ?  Whom 
seekest  thou?"  She  turned  and  saw  Jesus;  but, 
thinking  him  to  be  the  gardener,  she  said  :  "  Sir,  if 
thou  hast  borne,  him  hence,  tell  me  where  thou  hast 
laid  him."  "Mary!"  It  was  the  voice  of  the  Beloved. 
She  fell  at  his  feet,  crying  "  Rabboni!  "  which  is  to 
say,  "  My  Master!  "  Then  she  ran  also,  to  tell  the 
tidings.  There  was  much  running  at  this  time,  even 
as  there  was  much  singing  at  the  advent  of  our  Lord. 
On  the  evening  of  that  day  the  disciples  were  met  in 
the  upper  chamber,  and  into  the  midst  he  himself 
came,  saying,  "  It  is  I."  Then  joy  unspeakable  took 
the  place  of  disappointment.  The  day  of  sorrow  had 
said,  "  If  Christ  be  not  risen,  your  faith  is  vain  "  ;  but 
the  day  of  the  resurrection  sang  to  them,  "  Now  is 
Christ  risen  from  the  dead  and  become  the  first  fruits 
of  them  that  slept.  So  is  come  to  pass  the  saying 
that  is  written,  Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory." 

Let  us  also  come  and  see  the  place  where  the  Lord 
lay  ;  for  this  open  sepulchre  is  a  determining  factor 
in  the  problem  of  life  and  destiny. 

I.  //  establishes  the  Christhood  of  Jesus. 

(i)  It  had  been  prophesied  that  a  virgin  should 
conceive  and  bear  a  son  and  call  his  name  "  Im- 
manuel,"  which  is,  being  interpreted,  "  God  with  us  "  ; 
that  he  should  take  upon  himself  the  sorrows  of  the 
human  race  and  be  himself  a  man  of  sorrows  and  ac- 
quainted with  griefs  ;  that  he  should  be  wounded  for 
our  transgressions  and  bruised  for  our  iniquities,  that 
by  his  stripes  we  might  be  healed. 


THE    OPEN    SEPULCHRE.  279 

(2)  Jesus  of  Nazareth  claimed  that  he  was  this 
long-looked-for  One.  He  said  it  to  the  woman  of 
Samaria,  "  I  that  speak  unto  thee  am  he."  He  said 
it  in  the  sj^nagogue  at  Nazareth,  "The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath  anointed  me  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor  ;  he  hath  sent  me  to 
heal  the  broken-hearted,  to  preach  deliverance  to  the 
captives,  and  recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set 
at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised,  to  preach  the  ac- 
ceptable year  of  the  Lord.  This  day  is  this  scripture 
fulfilled  in  your  ears."  He  said  it  to  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  "  I  and  the  Father  are  one."  And 
they  took  up  stones  to  stone  him.  He  said  it  to  those 
who  boasted  of  their  descent  from  Abraham,  "  Before 
Abraham  was,  I  am,"  in  this  way  assuming  the  inef- 
fable name  which  had  been  revealed  to  Moses  at  the 
burning  bush.  He  said  it  to  the  judge  in  answer  to 
the  frank  question,  "  Art  thou  the  expected  King  of 
Israel  ?"  "  Thou  sayest  it." 

(3)  He  rested  his  title  to  divinity  upon  the  truth 
of  his  resurrection,  and  proved  it.  His  enemies 
clamored  for  a  sign  ;  he  said,  "  I  will  destroy  this 
temple  and  in  three  days  rear  it  again  "  ;  and  this  he 
spake  of  his  body.  Again  they  clamored  for  a  sign, 
and  he  answered,  "  I  will  give  you  no  sign  but  that  of 
Jonah  ;  three  days  in  darkness,  and  then  life  and  im- 
mortality brought  to  light." 

In  Schliemann's  excavations  among  the  ruins  of 
ancient  Mycenae,  he  came  upon  a  royal  tomb.  The 
noble  rank  of  its  inmate  was  betrayed  by  many  infal- 
lible tokens,  but  chiefly  by  a  golden  mask,  a  rusted 
sword  and  a  dented  shield.  He  concluded  that  this 
was  the  grave  of  Agamemnon,  who  was  known  as  the 
King  of  Men.     The  mask  was  here,  but  where  was  the 


28o  THE    OPEN    SEPULCHRE. 

face  ?  The  shield  was  here,  but  where  was  the  hand 
that  held  it  ?  The  sword  was  here,  but  where  was 
Agamemnon's  right  arm?  A  handful  of  dust.  Had 
Christ  been  suffered  to  abide  in  the  tomb,  his  flesh 
seeing  corruption,  who  would  have  believed  that  he 
had  upon  his  vesture  and  upon  his  thigh  a  name 
written.  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords  ?  Where- 
fore it  is  written,  "  He  hath  showed  himself  to  be 
the  Son  of  God  with  power  by  his  resurrection  from 
the  dead." 

II.  His  resurrection  also  proves  that  the  doctrine  of 
Jesus  is  true.  In  his  preaching  he  not  only  touched 
upon  the  great  verities,  the  problems  that  reach  out 
into  eternity,  but  he  hung  them  together  like  a  chain, 
so  that  the  whole  system  of  truth  depends  upon  his 
victory  over  death.  What  are  the  essential  parts  of 
the  doctrinal  system  which  he  has  given  us  ? 

(i)  An  immanent  God,  God  dwells  in  the  world 
which  he  has  created, 

(2)  Revelation.  God  has  declared  himself  in  the 
Incarnate  Word,  as  it  is  written  :  "  The  Word  was 
made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us."  And,  also,  in  the 
Written  Word,  as  the  Master  said  :  "  Search  the  Scrip- 
tures, for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life,  and 
these  are  they  which  testify  of  me." 

(3)  The  doctrine  of  man.  Man  born  of  God  with 
the  geometry  of  heaven  in  his  brain,  heir  to  a  noble 
birthright,  ever  conscious,  as  Plato  said,  "  of  the  mov- 
ing of  wings  within  him." 

(4)  Human  responsibility.  This  Teacher  held  up 
a  light  that  shone  into  the  heart  and  conscience  of 
all  men  and  showed  them  to  be  sinners.  He  pointed 
to  the  sure  penalty  of  sin  in  the  gnawing  of  an  undying 
worm  and  the  pain  of  an  unquenchable  fire.     And  he 


THE    OPEN    SEPULCHRE.  2S1 

placed  man  at  an  infinite  distance  from  his  Father 
when  he  declared  :  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he 
cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 

(5)  The  blood  atonement.  He  pointed  to  the  sac- 
rifices which  had  been  offered  all  along  history  from 
the  time  of  Abel,  and  declared  that  they  were  all  ful- 
filled in  him  as  the  Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world.  He  affixed  to  the  benefits  of  the  great 
sacrifice  a  single  condition,  to-wit:  "  He  that  believeth, 
shall  be  saved."  This  is  the  historic  doctrine  of  Justi- 
fication by  Faith.  * 

(6)  The  Holy  Ghost.  When  he  breathed  upon 
his  disciples  and  said,  "Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost" 
— for  your  enlightenment,  your  building  up  in  char- 
acter and  your  qualification  for  service — he  set  up  a 
New  Economy.  This  was  practically  the  founding 
of  the  Church  upon  the  rock  of  his  own  divine 
authority  ;  the  great  organism  through  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  working  toward  the  restitution  of 
all  things. 

(7)  Eternal  life.  He  opened  the  windows  of 
heaven  and  bade  us  believe  in  the  joys  of  the  Father's 
house.  To  die  is  not  to  cease  to  be.  This  he  him- 
self demonstrated  and  made  doubly  sure,  when  he 
rose  from  the  dead  as  the  first  fruits  of  them  that 
slept. 

It  is  said  that  Faraday,  in  his  wandering  among 
the  Alps,  came  upon  a  rural  graveyard  where  the 
peasants  of  the  neighboring  village  had  laid  away 
their  humble  friends.  One  grave  he  found  marked 
by  an  uninscribed  slab  ;  over  it  was  a  roof  beneath 
which  was  fastened  a  bit  of  parchment  with  a  name 
upon  it.  But  nature  had  contributed  just  there  a 
sweeter  philosophy  of  life — an  empty  chrysalis.     The 


282  THE    OPEN    SEPULCHRE. 

caterpillar  had  been  transformed  into  a  butterfly 
which  had  taken  its  flight.  And  Faraday  says,  as  he 
left  the  little  graveyard  his  heart  was  filled  with  a 
new  confidence,  that  God  would  bring  light  out  of 
darkness  and  life  out  of  the  sorrow  of  the  tomb. 

All  these  doctrines  are  fulfilled  in  the  resurrection 
of  Christ.  Without  that,  his  teaching  would  have 
been  as  vain  as  that  of  the  old  missionary,  who,  being 
blind  and  demented,  was  furnished  with  a  pen  and  an 
empty  inkstand,  so  that  he  wrote  continually,  yet 
said  nothing.  But,  blessed  be  God  !  the  seal  of 
divinity  is  put  upon  all  that  Jesus  said  ;  and  we  may 
with  an  unfaltering  voice  repeat  our  historic  creed  : 
"I  believe  in  God  the  Father  and  in  Jesus  Christ  his 
Son.  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church,  the  communion  of  saints,  the  forgiveness  of 
sins,  the  resurrection  of  the  body  and  the  life  ever- 
lasting.    Amen." 

ni.  The  etnpty  sepulchre  of  Jesus  proves  the  effective- 
ness of  his  work.  His  enemies  who  stood  about  the 
cross,  saw  him  in  the  anguish  of  death,  heard  his  last 
cry,  "It  is  finished!"  and  went  their  way,  saying, 
"We  shall  hear  no  more  of  the  Man  of  Nazareth." 
Hear  no  more  of  him  ?  A  few  of  his  humble  fol- 
lowers are  going  down  out  of  the  upper  chamber  to 
bear  the  tidings  of  his  resurrection  to  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  We  close  our  eyes  for  three  centuries  and 
open  them,  and  lo,  the  red  cross  banner  is  waving 
above  the  eagles  of  Rome.  We  close  our  eyes  again 
for  three  hundred  years  and  open  them,  and  lo,  from 
Italy  a  monk  is  bearing  the  gospel  across  the  channel 
into  Britain,  where  a  fierce-eyed  people,  clad  in  skins 
and  wielding  clubs,  will  hearken  to  him.  We  close 
our  eyes  for  thirteen  hundred  years  and  open  them, 


THE    OPEN    SEPULCHRE.  283 

and  lo,  four  hundred  millions  of  people  are  under  the 
sway  of  the  gospel  of  Christ ! 

Of  two  things  I  am  personally  made  certain   by 
this  resurrection  of  my  Lord  :  First,  My  own  salvation. 
The  spectres  death  and  hell  would  else  have  haunted 
me  forever,  the  king  of  terrors  with  his  gleaming  spear 
and    the    prince    of    darkness    with    his    mocking   of 
human  hopes.     But  if  Christ  be  risen,  these  are  as 
harmless  as  the  ghosts  of  our  morning  dreams  ;  for 
"  there  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in 
Christ  Jesus."     "  He  was  delivered   for  our  offences 
and  raised  again  for  our  justification."    If  we  were  re- 
deemed by  his  death,  how  much  more  shall  we  be  saved 
by  his  life.     Second.     My  commission.     I  know  that  I 
am    called    and    that   my   labor   is   not  in   vain.     No 
sooner  did   the  disciples  learn  that  Jesus  was  verily 
risen  from  the  dead  than  they  plucked  up  courage  to 
face  the  gleaming  axe,  the    fagots,  the   lions  of   the 
amphitheatre.     Nothing  could  appall   them  now,  be- 
cause they  knew  that  he   who  had   been  dead,  was 
alive  and  liveth  forever  more.     A  monk  knelt  under 
a  crucifix,  gazing  through  tears  at  the  dead  Christ. 
Suddenly   the    flesh    of  the    Crucified  One   assumed 
a  life-like  hue,  the  dull  eyes  shone,  the  lips  moved. 
"Weep  no  more,"  they  said  ;  "  I  have  work  for  thee  ; 
go,  minister  to  the  poor  and  heavy-hearted  ;  go,  de- 
clare the  unsearchable  riches  of  the  gospel,  and  lo,  I 
am  with  you."     The  same  word  comes  to  us,  "  Go, 
evangelize,  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world." 

It  is  related  that  when  the  chief  priests  and  Phari- 
sees came  to  Pilate  asking  that  the  sepulchre  of  Jesus 
might  be  made  sure  "  lest  his  disciples  should  come 
by  night  and   steal  him  away,"  he  answered,  "  Go, 


284  THE    OPEN    SEPULCHRE. 

make  it  as  sure  as  you  can."  Ay,  make  it  sure.  Lift  up 
your  hands  and  stay  the  glory  of  the  rising  sun  !  Go 
down  to  the  shore  at  ebb-tide  and  mark  a  boundary 
in  the  sand  and  say  to  the  ocean,  "  Thus  far  and  no 
farther"!  Purse  your  lips  and  breathe  against 
Euroclydon  and  send  him  whimpering  to  his  cave  ! 
"So  they  went  and  made  the  sepulchre  sure,  rolling 
a  great  stone  before  it  and  sealing  the  stone  and  set- 
ting a  watch."  The  night  wore  on  ;  to  and  fro  paced 
the  sentinels  before  the  tomb  ;  on  a  sudden  the 
ground  began  to  tremble  under  their  feet.  A  crash  ! 
The  rocks  reeled  and  tottered  and  were  rent  asunder. 
A  vivid  flash  from  heaven.  The  guards  fell  to  the 
earth  as  dead  men.  Then  from  yonder  shining 
heights,  a  troop  of  angels  glided  down  ;  the  stone  was 
rolled  away  and  the  King  came  forth  wiping  the  grave 
mold  from  his  brow.  And  then  the  angels  thronged 
his  chariot  wheels  and  bore  him  aloft,  to  receive 
again  the  glory  which  he  had  with  the  Father  before 
the  world  was.  And  far  in  the  distance  are  voices  : 
"  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up, 
ye  everlasting  doors,  and  let  the  King  of  glory  enter 
in  !" 

Wherefore,  comfort  one  another  with  these  words: 
"  He  that  was  dead  is  alive  and  liveth  forevermore." 
So  is  come  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written,  "  Death 
is  swallowed  up  in  victory."  "The  sting  of  death  is 
sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law  ;  but  thanks  be 
to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ." 


I  AM  DEBTOR. 

"  I  am  debtor  both  to  the  Greeks,  and  to  the  Barbarians  ;  both  to  the  wise,  and 
the  unwise.  "—Rom.  i.  14- 

It  is  debt  that  "  makes  the  world  go  round."  Debt 
is  synonymous  with  credit,  and  credit  means  confi- 
dence, and  confidence  is  identical  with  faith,  and  faith 
is  a  saving  grace.  The  principle  here  involved  un- 
derlies the  industries  of  nations.  Our  banking  sys- 
tem rests  upon  it  ;  for  every  man  who  makes  a  de- 
posit gives  evidence  of  confidence  in  his  fellow-men. 
It  is  credit  that  turns  the  wheels  of  our  great  factories 
and  sets  our  ships  a-sailing  on  the  sea.  There  is 
no  such  thing  as  debt  or  credit  in  Zululand.  An 
acre  of  land  for  a  string  of  beads  — spot  cash.  Where 
you  find  civilization,  you  find  mutual  confidence. 
Credit  is  a  magic  word.  The  fact  which  it  expresses 
is  one,  however,  of  the  most  delicate  character  ;  rest- 
ing on  the  right  relation  of  assets  and  liabilities,  it 
must  ever  be  handled  with  care.  Touch  it  unwisely 
and  you  have  financial  embarrassment.  Touch  it 
again  and  you  get  "hard  times."  Touch  it  yet  again 
and  you  have  bankruptcy — the  red  flag  and  the 
sheriff's  hammer.  Destroy  it,  and  you  get  a  measure 
of  barbarism — a  return  to  Zululand. 

An  insolvent  debtor  is  the  most  miserable  of  men. 
There  was  Daniel  Defoe  who  was  ever  overwhelmed 
with  debt,   pursued    from    morn   till   night  by  duns, 

(285) 


286  I    AM    DEBTOR. 

spending  a  large  portion  of  his  life  in  a  debtor's  jail. 
The  jail  was  his  island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  and  "Robin- 
son Crusoe  "  was  but  a  parable  of  the  lonely  misery  of 
insolvency.  And  there  was  Oliver  Goldsmith  who 
was  dunned  by  his  landlady,  dunned  by  his  milk- 
woman,  dunned  by  his  tailor  ;  fleeing  ,up  one  street 
when  his  duns  were  coming  down  another.  Pursued 
all  day  by  his  creditors,  and  retiring  at  night  to  be 
ridden  by  the  nightmare  of  debt.  The  bill  for 
that  famous  suit  which  he  wore  at  Boswell's  dinner — 
that  "ratteen  suit  lined  with  satin,  and  bloom-colored 
breeches  " — was  sent  in  after  poor  Noll  was  laid  out  for 
his  burial  and  there  was  nothing  wherewith  to  pay 
it.  A  sad  tribute  was  that  which  one  of  his  contem- 
poraries paid  to  his  memory  :  "  Was  ever  poet  so 
trusted  before  ?" 

It  was  a  wise  thing,  therefore,  that  John 
Randolph  said  :  "  I  have  found  the  philosopher's 
stone.  It  is,  Pay  as  you  go."  And  it  was  a  wise 
thing  that  Horace  Greeley  said  :  "  Young  man,  if  you 
have  only  fifty  cents,  do  not  run  into  debt  ;  but  buy 
a  peck  of  corn  and  parch  it  and  eat  it  and  sleep  the 
sleep  of  an  honest  man." 

Yet  here  is  Paul  the  Apostle  confessing  that  he 
was  over  ears  in  debt,  and  not  ashamed  of  it.  Paul, 
of  all  men  !  It  was  he  who  protested  that  he  would 
not  be  chargeable  to  any  man  ;  and  in  pursuance  of 
that  manifesto,  he  labored  with  his  own  hands  at  his 
trade  of  tent-making,  while  he  went  about  preaching 
the  unsearchable  riches  of  Jesus  Christ.  As  to  that 
cloak  which  he  had  left  at  Troas,  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
wherever  he  purchased  it,  he  paid  cash  for  it.  And 
as  to  that  hired  house  of  his  in  Rome,  we  may  be 
quite  sure  that  the  rent  was  paid.     When   this  man 


I    AM    DEBTOR.  287 

died,  after  fighting  his  good  fight,  there  was  no  es- 
tate to  settle  and  there  were  no  unpaid  bills.  He  died 
square  with  the  world,  not  chargeable  to  any  man. 
Yet  he  protests  here,  that  he  was  hopelessly  in  debt, 
and  that  his  business  in  life,  going  about  upon  his 
missionary  journeys,  was  simply  to  cancel  that  debt. 
He  lived  to  pay  it.  The  character  of  Paul  was  not 
unlike  that  of  the  Village  Blacksmith  of  whom  Long- 
fellow wrote  : 

"  His  brow  is  wet  with  honest  sweat; 
He  earns  whate'er  he  can  ; 
He  looks  the  whole  world  in  the  face, 
For  he  owes  not  any  man." 

It  is  important  to  enquire  respecting  this  debt  to 
which  the  Apostle  makes  reference  ;  for,  indeed,  it  is 
an  obligation  which  rests  upon  all,  certainly  upon 
all  who  profess  to  love  and  follow  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

I.  What  was  it?  We  may  find  an  explanation  in 
another  part  of  Paul's  letter  to  the  Romans,  in  which 
he  says,  "  Owe  no  man  anything,  but  to  love  one  an- 
other." This  debt  is  synonymous  with  the  word  '''•duty'' 
spelled  in  the  original  way,  due-ty.  The  reference  is 
to  an  obligation  which  rests  upon  every  man  with 
respect  to  all  his  fellow-men.  We  have  it  again  in 
the  word  "ought" — a  word  of  tremendous  signifi- 
cance in  which  are  comprehended  all  the  common 
duties  of  life.  In  one  of  Joseph  Cook's  lectures  on 
''Conscience"  he  says:  "Sum  up  the  globes  as  so 
much  silver,  and  the  suns  as  so  much  gold,  and  cast 
the  hosts  of  heaven  as  diamonds  on  a  necklace  into 
one  scale,  and  if  there  is  not  there  any  part  of  the 
word  Ought — if  Ought  is  absent  in  the  one  scale  and 
present  in  the    other — up   will  go  your  scale  laden 


288  I    AM    DEBTOR. 

with  the  universe,  as  a  crackling  paper  scroll  is  car- 
ried aloft  in  a  conflagration  ascending  towards  the 
stars.  For  God  is  in  the  word  Ought,  and  therefore 
it  outweighs  all  but  God." 

II.  Hoiv   was   this   debt  incurred?     It    came    upon 
us    originally    by   reason   of  our   creation   in   the   like- 
ness of  God ;  for   by   this   we    are    made    members 
of   a  great  family,   bound    to  all  our  kinspeople    by 
an  obligation  of  mutual  love  and  helpfulness.     It  is 
emphasized  by  divine  providence.     Not  only  did  God 
create  us  in  his  own  likeness  and  after  his  image,  but 
he  sustains  us  every  moment  of  the  day.     In   him   we 
live  and  move  and  have  our  being.     The  air  that  we 
breathe  is  his  ;  the  sunlight  that  gladdens  our  eyes 
is  his  ;  the  water  that  we  drink  is  his  ;  the  food  upon 
our  tables  is  his  ;  all  good  gifts  are  from  the  Father 
of   Lights.     I    know   a  wayward  lad,  who,  growing 
restive  under  parental  restraint,  ran   away  from  his 
home.     He  had  been  well  cared  for,  but  nothing  was 
good  enough  for  him.     When  he  stole  away,  with  a 
bundle  over  his  shoulder,  to  shift  for  himself,  he  was 
a  plump   fellow  with  rosy  cheeks,   wearing  a   neat 
jacket  and  with  a  tidy  outfit  generally.     He  was  gone 
sixty  days.     He  came  back  in  rags  and  tatters,  with 
sunken  cheeks,  and  looking  as  if  he  had  been  drawn 
through  a  wringer.     He  had  made  up  his  mind  that 
his  home   was  reasonably  comfortable,  and  that  his 
father  Vv'as  a  pretty  good  father  after  all.     How  would 
it  be  with  us,  if  we  could  get  away  from  our  Father's 
care  for  a  little  while,  for  sixty  days  or  for  as  many 
minutes,  say  ?     We  should  probably  be  glad  to  return 
to  his  bed  and  board.     Providence  would  mean  more 
to  us,  and  we   should   be   ready,  in  all  likelihood,  to 
acknowledge  the  responsibility  involved  in  it. 


I    AM    DEBTOR.  289 

But  we  come  into  a  further  indebtedness  still  by 
reason  of  the  divine  grace.  We  profess  to  be  Chris- 
tians. O  the  unspeakable  gift  !  O  the  riches  of  the 
heavenly  grace  !  The  goodness  of  God  is  a  casket  of 
jewels,  but  brighter  than  all  is  the  Koh-i-noor  of  sal- 
vation. 

"  Buried  in  sorrow  and  in  sin, 
At  hell's  dark  door  we  lay  ; 
But  we  arise  by  grace  divine 
To  see  a  heavenly  day." 

What  shall  we  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  this  lov- 
ing kindness  and  tender  mercy  ?  Duty,  is  the  answer. 
I  will  take  the  cup  of  his  salvation  and  pay  unto  him 
my  vows. 

III.  To  whom  is  this  debt  owed "?  In  the  first  place, 
obviously,  to  God  himself.  But  he  has  made  out  a  bill 
of  charges  bearing  a  personal  endorsement  which 
transfers  the  payment  to  our  fellow-men.  It  need 
scarcely  be  said  that  we  can  tender  him  no  remunera- 
tion for  his  kindness  to  us.  We  cannot  add  to  his 
essential  glory  ;  we  cannot  increase  the  sum  total  of 
his  infinite  exchequer  ;  but  we  can  meet  our  indebt- 
edness to  him  by  extending  his  goodness  toward  all. 
So  it  is  written  :  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto 
the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto 
me." 

We  are,  therefore,  debtors  to  all  men.  This  is  dis- 
tinctly a  Christian  thought.  The  pagan  idea  was 
well  expressed  by  the  philosopher  Hierocles,  who  out- 
lined his  conception  of  relative  duty  in  a  series  of 
concentric  circles.  A  point  at  the  centre  represented 
himself  ;  the  inner  circle  stood  for  his  home  and  kins- 
folk ;  the  next  for  his  townsmen  ;  the  next  for  his 
fellow-countrymen  ;  and  the  outermost  circle  repre- 


290  I    AM    DEBTOR. 

sented  the  world  beyond.  The  same  conception  finds 
expression  in  the  familiar  proverb,  "Charity  begins  at 
home  ";  the  meaning  being,  that  a  man  shall  primarily 
look  out  for  himself,  then  for  his  kinsmen — "Me  and 
my  wife,  my  son  John  and  his  wife  ;  us  four  and  no 
more" — then  with  an  ever-decreasing  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility for  all  the  rest  of  his  fellow-men.  If  this 
thought  had  prevailed  in  the  mind  of  Dr.  Livingstone, 
he  never  would  have  gone  to  Africa,  and  the  dark 
continent  with  its  habitations  of  cruelty  would  not 
have  been  opened  up  to  civilization  and  the  gospel  of 
Christ;  Carey  would  never  have  gone  to  India; 
Adoniram  Judson  would  never  have  gone  to  Burmah  ; 
Hans  Egede  would  never  have  gone  to  Greenland  ; 
the  Apostle  Paul  would  never  have  crossed  the  Hel- 
lespont in  answer  to  the  Macedonian  call,  and  Europe 
would  have  continued  under  the  sway  of  the  pagan 
religions  ;  and  Augustine  would  never  have  gone 
over  to  Britain  to  preach  to  our  ancestors,  and  this 
would  have  left  us,  in  all  probability,  still  clothed  in 
skins  as  they  were,  and  getting  our  living  with  stone 
knives  and  bludgeons. 

Nay,  more,  if  that  proverb  in  its  usual  acceptation 
had  commended  itself  to  Jesus  Christ,  he  never  would 
have  come  all  the  way  from  heaven  in  order  to  de- 
liver our  ruined  race  from  its  bondage  of  sin.  It  is 
true  that  when  he  commanded  his  disciples  to  go 
into  all  the  world  to  preach  the  gospel,  he  added, 
"  beginning  at  Jerusalem  "  ;  but  as  his  subsequent 
words  showed,  he  intended  that  they  should  remain 
at  Jerusalem  only  long  enough  to  receive  the  baptism 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  so  they  might  be  endued 
with  power  for  the  universal  propagation  of  the  gos- 
pel.    "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  "  ;  in  this,  indeed,  we 


I    AM   DEBTOR.  291 

find  the  true  definition  of  our  debt.  And  it  is  laid 
not  only  upon  ministers  in  holy  orders,  but  upon  all 
those  who  follow  the  Lord  Christ.  Go  ye,  person- 
ally if  you  can  ;  in  any  case,  by  proxy,  sending  out 
your  love,  your  sympathy,  your  prayers,  your  contri- 
butions, until  up  to  the  full  measure  of  your  influence 
you  shall  have  done  your  utmost  to  evangelize  the 
world.  The  prayer  of  David  is  the  prayer  for  us  : 
"O  God,  enlarge  our  hearts  !  "  Enlarge  our  hearts 
until  we  shall  be  able  to  say  as  Wesley  did,  "  The 
world  is  my  parish."  Enlarge  our  hearts  until  we 
shall  understand  that  our  neighbors  are  not  merely 
those  who  dwell  next  door,  but  Jew  and  Greek,  bond 
and  free,  all  the  children  of  men. 

This  was  Paul's  understanding  of  the  matter,  and 
this  was  why  he  went  about  everywhere  preaching 
the  Gospel.  What  was  he  doing  at  Philippi  in  the 
congregation  of  women  that  gathered  for  prayer  by 
the  river  side?  He  was  seeking  to  pay  his  debt. 
What  was  he  doing  at  Ephesus  among  his  fellow 
tent-makers  ?  at  Athens,  when  he  declared  the  gospel 
to  the  philosophers  sitting  on  the  stone  steps  of 
the  Areopagus  below  him  ?  in  the  palace  at  Caesarea, 
where,  with  a  chain  upon  his  wrist,  he  spoke  of  right- 
eousness, temperance  and  judgment,  to  kings  and 
their  paramours  ?  at  Jerusalem,  when  he  addressed 
the  mob  from  the  stairway  of  the  castle  of  Antonia  ? 
on  shipboard,  where,  amid  the  whistling  of  the  tem- 
pest, he  spoke  to  the  sailors  of  his  faith  ?  or  in  Rome, 
where  in  the 'Praetorian  Camp  and  in  the  Mamertine 
jail  he  indited  epistles  and  spoke  of  salvation  to  his 
guards  ?  He  was  discharging  his  debt  like  an  honest 
man.  "Woe  is  me,"  cried  he,  "if  I  preach  not  the 
gospel!  Necessity  is  laid  upon  me,  for  I  am  debtor  t<? 
every  man." 


292  I    AM    DEBTOR. 

IV.  What  shall  we  do  about  it  ?  The  first  thinsf  to 
do,  is  to  acknowledge  the  debt.  This  is  a  mere  matter 
of  common  ethics.  We  are  to  use  our  talents,  our 
physical  energies,  our  possessions,  as  remembering 
that  God  is  the  giver  of  all. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  people  outside  of  the 
church  and  within  it.  (i)  Traynps.  They  come  to 
your  back  door  with  a  petition  for  food  and  a  pathetic 
tale  of  better  days.  Give  them  something  to  do  in 
the  wood-yard,  and  presently  they  have  folded  their 
tents  like  the  Arabs  and  silently  stolen  away.  A 
tramp  is  one  who  has  no  occupation,  no  money  and 
no  responsibility.  His  aphorism  is,  "  The  world  owes 
me  a  living."  He  owes  nobody  anything.  He  takes 
the  goods  the  gods  provide  and  asks  no  questions 
for  conscience'  sake.  There  is  a  class  of  people  in 
the  Christian  Church  who  seem  to  entertain  a  similar 
conception  of  life.  They  are  in  the  Church  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  salvation,  that  is,  deliverance 
from  eternal  death,  and  ethical  culture  for  building  up 
in  character.  Beyond  that  they  seem  to  have  little 
concern. 

(2)  Embezzlers.  That  is,  men  who  appropriate  to 
their  personal  use  funds  which  are  simply  entrusted 
to  their  care.  Such  was  the  farmer  who,  having  been 
prospered,  said  :  "  What  shall  I  do .''  I  am  rich 
and  increased  in  goods  and  have  need  of  nothing. 
This  will  I  do :  I  will  tear  down  my  barns  and 
build  greater,  and  I  will  say  to  my  soul,  'Soul, 
thou  art  very  prosperous  ;  take  thine  ease  ;  eat,  drink, 
and  be  merry  '  ;  for  what  is  there  better  under  the 
sun  than  that  a  man  should  enjoy  his  life  ?  "  But  he 
left  God,  his  great  creditor,  out  of  the  reckoning  and 
a  voice  intruded  upon  his  reflections  :  "  Thou   fool, 


\ 


I    AM    DEBTOR. 


'93 


this  night  shall  thy  soul  be  required  of  thee.  Then 
what  about  the  goods  which  thou  callest  thine  own  *" 
A  dead  man — a  contested  will — an  estate  torn  asun- 
der—a property  scattered  like  chaff  before  the  winds. 
So  passes  away  the  glory  of  the  man  who  uses  for 
his  own  benefit  that  which  does  not  belong  to  him. 
As  Christian  people,  we  profess  to  believe  that  all 
we  have  belongs  to  God.  If  there  is  anything 
more  than  empty  sentiment  in  that  statement,  then 
we  are  not  honest  in  devoting  our  energies  to  selfish 
uses.  "Will  a  man  rob  God?"  Shall  we  be  less 
honest  in  our  dealings  with  him  than  we  are  with 
our  fellow-men?  "Yet  ye  have  robbed  me,"  saith 
the  Lord.  "But  wherein  have  we  robbed  thee?" 
"  In  tithes  and  offerings." 

(3)  Trustees.  Our  Lord  made  a  last  will  and  tes- 
tament in  which  he  left  the  unsearchable  riches  of  the 
gospel  to  all  men.  These  riches  are  entrusted  to  us 
for  distribution.  An  honest  trustee  feels  and  ac- 
knowledges that  he  is  debtor  to  every  legatee.  It  is 
his  business  to  see  that  every  heir  who  is  mentioned 
in  the  will  shall  receive  his  full  share  of  the  inherit- 
ance. This  is  his  business  as  an  honest  man.  Our 
Lord's  heirs  are  everywhere.  They  are  in  the  slums 
of  the  great  city.  They  are  out  upon  the  frontiers 
of  the  land.  They  are  dwelling  by  the  banks  of  the 
Congo.  It  is  our  business,  unless  we  are  prepared  to 
throw  up  our  trusteeship,  to  see  that  the  riches  en- 
trusted to  us  for  distribution  shall  reach  all  men. 

It  is  written  that  on  a  certain  occasion  our  Lord, 
seeing  the  multitude  an-hungered,  had  compassion  on 
them,  and  having  seated  them  on  the  grassy  slopes, 
he  multiplied  the  loaves.  He  then  called  upon  his 
twelve  disciples  to  distribute  them.     It  so  happened 


294  I    AM    DEBTOR. 

that  there  were  twelve  baskets  there,  one  for  each 
disciple.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  that  Peter,  on  receiv- 
ing his  basket  of  food,  would  think  of  his  wife  and 
children  at  home  ;  he  had  been  their  bread-winner, 
but  had  given  up  all  to  follow  Christ.  Let  us  sup- 
pose that  he  said  to  himself,  "  It  may  be  that 
these  dear  ones  of  mine  are  in  need.  A  man  that 
careth  not  for  his  own  household  is  worse  than  an 
infidel.  I  will  keep  this  basket  of  food  for  them." 
And,  presently,  John,  as  he  was  going  with  his  basket, 
met  his  brother  James  who  bore  a  similar  burden  and 
said  to  him,  "  How  grateful  this  food  would  be  to  our 
old  father  and  mother  on  the  lake  shore.  They  no 
longer  have  us  to  lean  on,  and  possibly  they  are  in 
want.  Why  shall  we  not  keep  these  baskets  for  them  ? 
Does  not  charity  begin  at  home?"  And  so  all  the 
twelve  might  have  reasoned  within  themselves.  Under 
such  circumstances,  how  long  would  it  have  taken  to 
feed  that  multitude  ?  But  is  not  this  precisely  the 
method  in  which  many  of  us  are  pursuing  the  Master's 
work  ?  The  living  bread  is  not  ours  for  personal 
consumption  merely  ;  it  was  broken  on  Calvary  and 
multiplied  for  the  use  of  the  whole  world.  We  are 
simply  the  intermediaries  through  whom  the  Lord 
distributes  it. 

So,  having  recognized  our  indebtedness  for  Jesus' 
sake  to  all  our  fellow-men,  the  next  thing  to  do  is  to 
discharge  it.  I  have  a  friend  who,  ten  years  ago,  lost 
all  his  earthly  wealth  ;  at  that  time  he  made  some 
sort  of  compromise  with  his  creditors,  but  expressed 
his  purpose  to  ultimately  pay  them  all.  Not  long 
ago  he  called  upon  me  and  said,  "I  have  just  paid 
the  last  dollar  that  I  owed.  I  have  nothing  left  ex- 
cept a  good  conscience  and   a  resolute  purpose  ;  I 


I    AM  DEBTOR.  295 

never  was  so  happy  in  my  life."  And  I  grasped  his 
hand  and  reminded  him  of  what  Robert  Burns  had 
said  : 

"An  honest  man,  though  ne'er  so  poor, 
Is  king  o'  men,  for  a'  that." 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  building  his  beautiful  home 
at  Abbotsford,  brought  himself  under  an  overwhelm- 
ing burden  of  debt.  He  did  not  despair,  however, 
but  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  meeting  his 
obligations.  He  wrote  unceasingly,  and  gave  no  rest 
to  his  weary  brain.  When  friends  remonstrated,  he 
asserted  his  determination  to  live  and  die  an 
honest  man.  Stricken  with  palsy,  he  was  often 
tempted  to  rest,  but  would  cry,  "This  is  folly,  bring 
me  my  pens  and  paper  !  "  He  died  at  last,  leaving 
a  square  balance  sheet.  We  revere  the  memory  of 
such  men. 

O  that  we  were  as  sensitive  to  the  common  rule  of 
ethics  in  our  relations  with  God,  as  we  are  in  our 
dealings  with  our  fellow-men  !  When  we  fully  recog- 
nize the  fact  of  our  indebtedness  to  all,  and  when  the 
universal  Church  shall,  with  a  resolute  purpose,  set 
about  discharging  the  debt,  the  end  will  be  near. 
Maranatha  will  be  a  fact  accomplished.  The  king- 
doms of  this  world  will  have  become  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  The  nations  are  waiting  for  this.  They  are 
waiting  to  see  in  Christian  people  more  evidence  of 
their  belief  that  faith  in  the  gospel  is  necessary  to 
eternal  life.  They  are  waiting  to  behold  in  us  an  all- 
consuming  zeal  for  the  spread  of  the  glad  tidings 
and  the  deliverance  of  the  world. 

When  the  Moravian  missionaries  went  to  Green- 
land, they  were  unable  during  the  first  year  to  make 
any  impression  whatever.     Then  came  an  epidemic 


296  I    AM    DEBTOR. 

of  small-pox,  in  which  multitudes  were  prostrated, 
and  the  missionaries  went  about  among  them,  min- 
istering to  body  and  soul  in  the  Master's  name. 
After  that  the  way  was  clear.  The  people  said,  "  You 
have  nursed  us  in  our  sickness  ;  you  have  cared  for 
us  in  our  friendless  distress  ;  you  have  buried  our 
dead,  when  the  dogs  and  ravens  would  have  de- 
voured them  ;  now  tell  us  of  your  religion.  For, 
from  this  time  forward,  your  God  shall  be  our  God." 
The  spirit  of  self-denial  in  behalf  of  others  is  the 
spirit  that  will  win  the  world  yet.  Go,  preach  the 
gospel,  therefore.  Go,  pay  your  honest  debt  of  grati- 
tude to  God.  Go,  deliver  to  your  neigbors  near  and 
far,  the  message  of  life  which  God  has  entrusted  to 
you.  Be  mindful  of  all  his  loving  kindness  and 
tender  mercies  and  of  the  grateful  service  which 
should  follow  them.  What  shall  I  render  unto  the 
Lord  for  his  goodness?  I  will  take  of  the  cup  of  his 
^^salvation,  and  pay  unto  him  my  vows. 


ON  THIS  ROCK  WILL  I  BUILD  MY 
CHURCH. 

"  And  Simon  Peter  said,  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God.  And 
Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Blessed  art  ihou,  Simon  Bar-jona  •  for 
fiesh  and  b  ood  hath  not  revealed  u  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven  But  I  say  also  unto  thee,  That  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock 
I  will  build  my  church  ;  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it." 
— Matt.  xvi.  16-1S. 

This  passage  is  fighting  ground  ;  on  it  have  been 
waged  long  campaigns  of  controversy.  "On  this 
rock  will  I  build  my  church.  '  What  rock  ?  The 
Romish  Church  says,  ■'  Peter.  What  could  be  plainer? 
Does  not  Petros  mean  a  rock  ?  "  Here  is  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Papacy.  Around  the  inner  border  of  the 
dome  of  St.  Peter  s  runs  this  passage  in  letters  of  gold: 
"Thou  art  Peter  and  on  this  rock  will  I  build  my 
church  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against 
it." 

But  the  rock  here  referred  to  is  not  Peter,  for  the 
following  reasons  : 

First.  Our  text  does  not  say  so.  The  words  Petros 
and  petra,  or  rock,  are  not  identical  ;  the  former  is 
masculine,  the  latter  is  feminine  ;  one  is  a  rock,  the 
other  a  stone.  Here  is  indeed  a  play  upon  words. 
In  response  to  Peter's  declaration,  "Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God,"  the  Master  said, 
"  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Son  of  Jonah  :  for  flesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  this  wonderful  truth  to  thee, 

(»97) 


298  ON  THIS  ROCK  WILL  I  BUILD  MY  CHURCH, 

but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven  hath  revealed  it. 
And  I  say  unto  thee,  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my 
church  and  thou  shalt  receive  a  new  name,  Petros,  a 
stone  hewn  out  of  the  rock,  because  thou  hast  an- 
nounced it." 

The  Apostle  John,  who  was  the  intimate  friend  of 
Peter,  was  called  Theologus,  from  the  fact  that  he 
was  an  instructor  in  theology,  his  system  being, 
substantially,  this:  "God  is  love."  The  Master 
might  have  said  to  him,  "Thou  art  Theologus  and 
on  this  theology  of  thine  will  I  build  my  church  and 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it." 

The  Apostle  James,  brother  of  John,  was  an  evan- 
gelist in  that  he  declared  the  evangel  of  salvation. 
The  Master  might  have  said  to  him,  had  occasion 
called  for  it,  "Thou  art  James,  son  of  Zebedee  ;  thou 
shalt  be  called  the  Evangelist,  and  upon  thine  evangel 
will  I  build  my  church  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it." 

Our  second  ground  for  rejecting  the  interpreta- 
tion which  makes  Peter  the  rock-foundation  of  the 
church,  is  its  utter  unreasonableness.  The  Church  is 
the  great  organism  through  which  God  is  working 
for  the  deliverance  of  the  world  from  sin.  It  would 
be  preposterous  to  suppose  that  God  would  found 
this  institution  upon  a  man — a  fallible  man — and 
Peter  of  all  fallible  men. 

Why  are  the  nymphs  weeping  by  all  the  brooks 
and  rivers  of  the  earth  ?  The  Romans  would  say. 
Because  of  the  sorrow  that  befell  Phaethon.  And 
what  was  that  ?  He  besought  of  Apollo  the  privilege 
of  driving  the  chariot  of  the  sun  for  a  single  day 
and  it  was  granted  him.  He  grasped  the  lines 
and  spoke   to   the   fiery   steeds.      Away    they    sped 


ON  THIS  ROCK  WILL  I  BUILD  MY  CHURCH.  299 

among  the  glittering  worlds,  colliding  with  stars 
and  planets  until  all  space  was  filled  with  flying 
sparks  ;  then  in  mercy  the  father  of  the  gods  smote 
him  with  a  thunderbolt  and  he  fell  dead  by  the  river 
side.  The  old  fable  is  a  mere  silhouette  of  the  chaos 
and  confusion  that  would  long  ago  have  resulted  in  the 
moral  universe,  had  God  abdicated  his  sovereignty 
over  the  church  and  allowed  Peter  to  take  the  reins  ; 
but  happily  that  he  never  did. 

What  then  was  this  rock  ?  The  good  confession 
which  Peter  made,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  living  God."  At  this  time  our  Lord  was  pursuing 
his  journey  through  Caesarea-Philippi,  his  face  set 
steadfastly  toward  the  cross.  He  greatly  desired  his 
disciples  to  be  informed  as  to  his  divine  character 
and  mission,  but  as  yet  they  had  not  been  able  to 
bear  it.  He  was  now  moved  to  inquire,  "Who  do 
men  say  that  I  am?"  To  this  they  gave  various 
answers.  "  But,"  he  questioned,  "  Who  say  ye  that 
I  am  ?"  Then  Peter  witnessed  his  good  confession  : 
"Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God." 
It  was  pursuant  to  these  words  that  Jesus  said, 
"  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-Jonah  :  for  flesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee";  giving  him 
his  new  name  Petros,  in  recognition  of  his  valorous 
words. 

The  truth  here  announced  was  in  the  nature  of  a 
great  discovery.  The  disciples  knew  indeed  that 
Jesus  was  a  wonderful  personage,  for  they  had  heard 
his  sermons,  had  seen  his  miracles,  and  had  taken 
note  of  his  unique  character.  But  it  remained  for 
Peter  to  discern  the  fullness  of  the  truth  :  "Thou  art 
the  Christ,  the  Anointed  One,  the  Messiah,  whom 
kings  and  prophets  longed   to  see  and   died    without 


300  ON  THIS  ROCK  WILL  I  BUILD  MY  CHURCH. 

the  sight  ;  thou  art  the  Christ,  from  all  eternity 
ordained  and  anointed  to  save  the  people  from  their 
sins."  The  heart  of  Balboa  stood  still  with  amaze- 
ment when,  from  the  crags  of  Panama,  he  saw  the 
Pacific  Ocean  stretching  far  into  the  distance.  A 
marvelous  discovery  indeed,  but  not  comparable  with 
this  which  burst  upon  the  ravished  vision  of  Simon 
Son  of  Jonah.  It  was  the  mightiest  of  all  truths.  In 
it  were  wrapt  up  the  incarnation,  the  atonement  and 
the  resurrection.  It  had  been  hidden  from  the  eyes 
of  the  wise  and  prudent,  to  be  revealed  to  this  fisher- 
man. The  Rabbis  had  not  apprehended  it ;  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  seemed  to  them  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry 
ground  and  there  was  no  beauty  that  they  should 
desire  him.  The  philosophers  by  the  Ilyssus  little 
dreamed  that  this  Jesus  walking  before- their  eyes  was 
the  veritable  Son  of  God  ;  their  eyes  were  holden  that 
they  could  not  see  it.  But  Simon  Peter  grasped  the 
glorious  truth.  The  garment  of  this  Nazarene 
prophet,  a  man  of  the  people,  the  King  of  Kings  dis- 
guised in  flesh,  fluttered  aside  for  an  instant  and  his 
royal  ermine  was  disclosed  to  view.  Now  all  his 
miracles  were  clear  as  day  ;  the  secret  of  his  won- 
drous sermons  was  explained,  and  of  his  life  per- 
fect in  all  manly  graces.  The  great  discovery  was 
made.  Eureka!  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  Living  God." 

I.  This  interpretation  of  the  words  of  Jesus  making 
his  own  headship  to  be  the  foundation  of  his  Church,  is 
consonantwith  reason.  It  is  respectfully  submitted  that 
the  other  view  making  Peter  the  rock,  is  not  reasonable. 
The  history  of  the  church  is  written  in  two  volumes  : 
one  entitled  Sinai,  the  other  Calvary. 

The  Law  was  given  on  Mt.  Sinai  and  formeU  thf 


ON  THIS  ROCK  WILL  I  BUILD  MY  CHURCH.  301 

basis  of  the  Old  Economy.  That  law  was  written 
by  the  finger  of  God  himself,  the  same  God  who 
afterwards,  robed  in  flesh,  endured  the  agony  of  the 
cross.  He  stood  in  the  midst  of  that  economy  of 
law,  the  rock-foundation  of  the  ancient  church.  It 
would  be  preposterous  to  say  that  Moses  was  the 
foundation  of  that  church  since  his  only  connection 
with  the  law  was  that  of  an  intermediary  who  carried 
the  tables  down  the  mountain  side,  and  broke  them 

by  the  way. 

The  Gospel  was  proclaimed  from  Calvary,  written 
by  the  pierced  hand  of  God  himself  ;  the  incarnate 
God  who  stood  then  and  stands  forever  in  the  midst 
of  that  gospel,  the  rock-foundation  of  the  Christian 
Church.  And  what  part  does  Peter  take  in  this? 
The  part  of  a  herald  only,  leading  the  little  company 
of  apostles,  whose  numbers  were  destined  to  be  multi- 
plied into  that  great  procession  of  evangelists  whose 
feet  are  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  because  they 
carry  the  glad  tidings  of  life.  Nor  is  there  any 
warrant  for  interweaving  the  name  of  Peter  with 
that  of  Christ  in  the  primacy  of  the  church.  If 
Phidias  was  banished  for  placing  his  name  in  the 
corner  of  the  shield  of  Athene,  what  shall  be  said  of  the 
presumption  which  places  Peter  in  the  seat  of  the 
only  begotten  Son  of  God? 

1 1 .  The  view  here  advanced  is  consonant  with  Scripture. 
The  divine  revelation  is  given  in  two  volumes  which 
we  call  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament.  The  Old 
Testament  is  full  of  Christ  from  the  protevangel  in 
Eden,  "  The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the 
serpent's  head,"  on  through  psalm  and  prophecy  un- 
til the  Messianic  word  fades  out  in  the  expiring  gleam 
of  Malachi's  torch.     And  where  does  Moses  stand  in 


302  ON  THIS   ROCK  WILL  I  BUILD  MY  CHURCH. 

this  Old  Testament  ?  In  the  midst  of  the  camp  with 
his  hand  uplifted  toward  the  brazen  serpent,  the 
prophetic  symbol  of  Christ  crucified,  crying,  "  Look 
and  live  !  " 

The  New  Testament  likewise  is  full  of  Christ  from 
its  opening  picture  of  the  child  in  the  manger  to  that 
vision  of  the  Apocalypse  where  the  great  multitude 
encircle  the  throne  of  the  Crucified  One,  singing, 
"Thou  art  worthy  to  receive  honor  and  power  and 
dominion,  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed 
us  to  God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every  kindred,  and 
tongue,  and  people,  and  nation  ;  and  hast  made  us 
kings  and  priests  unto  God."  And  where  stands 
Peter  in  the  New  Testament?  In  the  midst  of  the 
Pentecostal  congregation,  speaking  not  of  himself, 
but  of  another  :  "  Ye  men  of  Israel,  hear  these  words: 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man  approved  among  you  by 
miracles  and  wonders  and  signs,  him  have  ye  taken 
and  with  wicked  hands  have  crucified  and  slain  ; 
whom  God  hath  raised  up,  saying.  Sit  thou  on  my 
right  hand  until  I  make  thy  foes  thy  footstool." 

Thus  Christ  is  everything  and  Moses  and  Peter  are 
nothing  save  as  they  wait  upon  him.  As  of  old  it  had 
been  written,  "  Behold,  I  lay  in  Zion  for  a  foundation 
a  stone,  a  tried  stone,  a  precious  corner-stone,  a  sure 
foundation  :  he  that  believeth,  shall  not  make  haste," 
so  it  was  written  in  the  Church  of  the  new  dispensa- 
tion, "Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that 
which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ." 

III.  This  view  furthermore  is  consonant  with  history. 
In  point  of  fact  there  never  was  a  time  when,  by  the 
great  body  of  believers,  Peter  was  regarded  as  the 
rock  foundation  of  the  Church,  or  as  her  primate,  or 
as    the  Vicar   of  God.     His    primacy  was   disputed 


ON  THIS  ROCK   WILL  I  BUILD  MY  CHURCH.  303 

among  the  twelve  when  they  contended  as  to  which 
should  be  greatest  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  His 
authority,  which  never  reached  a  claim  of  infallibility, 
was  called  in  question  when  Paul  withstood  him  to 
the  face  and  his  own  co-presbyters  decided  against 
him.  The  man  chosen  to  moderate  the  first  of  the 
great  councils  was  not  Peter,  as  would  have  been 
a  logical  necessity  had  he  been  regarded  as  primate, 
but  James  the  pastor  of  the  Jerusalem  Church. 
In  the  Council  at  Nicea,  a.d.  325,  where  the  great 
controversy  was  respecting  this  very  question,  there 
was  no  mention  of  Peter's  primacy,  but  everything 
centered  in  the  headship  of  Christ.  Nor  indeed  was 
the  proposition  of  papal  supremacy,  founded  on  the 
primacy  of  Peter,  ever  formally  suggested  until  the 
closing  in  of  the  shadows  of  the  dark  ages.  Its 
formulation  precipitated  the  Reformation.  It  was  in 
the  city  of  Rome,  under  the  shadow  of  St.  Peter's, 
that  Luther,  climbing  the  Sancta  Scala,  heard,  as  it 
were,  a  voice  from  heaven  declaring  to  him  the  great 
doctrine  of  a  standing  or  a  falling  church — the 
doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith  in  the  only  begot- 
ten Son  of  God.  In  all  this,  history  agrees  with 
Scripture  in  the  proposition  that  there  is  no  primate 
whatsoever  aside  from  Jesus  Christ  himself,  except 
that  Anti-Christ  whom  Paul  calls  the  son  of  perdition, 
"who  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called  God  and 
as  God  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God  and  is  worship- 
ped as  God." 

From  the  proposition  that  the  Church  is  founded 
upon  the  headship  of  Christ  we  proceed  now  to  three 
important  inferences  : 

First.  Here  is  the  basis  of  Church  Unity.  AH  de- 
nominations  are   practically   one  in  Christ  and  they 


304  ON  THIS  ROCK  WILL  I  BUILD  MY  CHURCH. 

are  one  in  nothing  else.  In  vain  the  recent  ency- 
clical of  Leo  XIII.  calls  upon  all  the  ''  separated  " 
brethren  to  come  under  the  aegis  of  Rome  ;  that  is, 
in  an  acknowledgment  of  the  primacy  of  Peter.  In 
vain  equally  are  all  the  manifestoes  put  forth  by  the 
Anglican  Church  looking  to  the  union  of  all  denom- 
inations upon  the  basis  of  the  historic  episcopate  ; 
that  is,  the  hierarchy  proceeding  from  the  Twelve  as 
Vicars  of  God.  The  only  lodestone  in  all  the  uni- 
verse which  can  gather  up  and  bind  together  the 
various  parts  of  the  great  fellowship,  is  Jesus  Christ, 
who  said,  "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto 
me."  No  church  can  be  ruled  out  of  the  charmed 
circle  if  it  acknowledges  the  supremacy  of  Jesus. 
There  is  already  a  practical  and  effective  unity  among 
all  bodies  of  believers  that  can  say,  "  One  Lord,  one 
faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  us  all." 

Second.  The  catholicity  of  the  church  also  rests  in  this 
same  proposition.  No  proclamation  of  good  tidings 
can  be  of  universal  application  unless  it  rests  upon 
the  universality  of  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ.  Who 
is  Paul .?  Or  who  is  Apollos  ?  Or  who  is  Cephas  ? 
Or  who  is  Wesley  ?  Or  who  is  John  Calvin  ?  Or 
who  is  Leo  XIII.  ?  Who  are  all  these  hierarchs  ?  Let 
Christ  be  all  in  all.  There  can  be  no  substitution  of 
the  name  of  Peter  for  that  of  Jesus  Christ  on  the 
cornerstone  of  the  Church  until  it  shall  be  announced 
from  heaven,  that  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he 
gave  Simon  Bar-Jonah  to  redeem  it.  There  can  be  no 
gathering  of  the  nations  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Vatican  until  it  can  be  truthfully  said.  The  blood  of 
St.  Peter  cleanseth  from  all  sin. 

Third.  Here  also  is  our  assurance  of  the  perpetuity  of 
the  Church.     Because  it  rests  upon  the  rock  of  ages, 


ON  THIS  ROCK  WILL  I  BUILD  MY  CHURCH.  305 

the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  The 
words  of  Luther  at  the  dedication  of  the  Wittemberg 
Chapel  were  wisely  spoken  :  "  Now  must  Christ  be 
everything  to  us,  and  to  whom  Christ  is  everything 
all  else  is  nothing.  He  is  made  unto  us  wisdom  and 
righteousness  and  sanctification  and  redemption. 
He  is  all  and  in  all."  And  because  the  Church  is  thus 
centred  in  the  personality  of  Jesus,  his  word  is  her 
personal  guarantee  of  safety. 

Oh  where  are  kings  and  empires  now, 

Of  old  that  went  and  came  ? 
But,  Lord,  Thy  Church  is  praying  yet 

A  thousand  years  the  same. 

»  Unshaken  as  the  eternal  hills, 

Immovable  she  stands ; 
A  mountain  that  shall  fill  the  earth. 
An  house  not  made  with  hands. 


THE  POWER  OF  THE  KEYS. 

"  And  1  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven."— Matt.  i6,  19. 

Here  is  a  great  truth, — a  truth  which  has  given 
rise  to  endless  controversy.  In  the  opinion  of  some, 
the  words  of  Jesus  on  this  occasion  gave  to  Peter  and 
his  apostolic  associates  and  successors  a  roving  com- 
mission to  take  general  charge  of  divine  affairs.  The 
destinies  of  the  race  were  placed  in  their  hands.  It 
is  for  them  to  save  or  damn  at  will.  God,  having 
devised  the  plan  of  redemption  and  carried  it  out  at 
an  infinite  expenditure  on  Calvary,  was  then  pleased 
to  turn  over  the  whole  matter  to  human  hands. 

I  do  not  believe  it.  There  is  something  wrong 
with  such  an  exposition  of  Scripture. 

The  revolutionary  tribunal  of  1794  in  France  had 
power  to  arrest  without  complaint,  try  without  jury, 
and  convict  without  witnesses  ;  in  consequence  of 
such  arbitrary  exercise  of  power,  no  less  than  four- 
teen hundred  victims  died  on  the  guillotine  between 
the  loth  of  June  and  the  27th  of  July  in  that  awful 
year.  The  life  of  the  nation  was  at  the  absolute  dis- 
posal of  Robespierre  and  his  four  confreres.  The 
world  stands  aghast  at  such  a  concentration  of  power 
in  the  hands  of  mortal  men.  But  this  is  a  mere 
nothing,  a  bagatelle,  in  comparison  with  the  power 
which  is  said  to  have  been  committed  to  the  hands  Of 

(306) 


THE    POWER    OF    THE    KEYS.  307 

Peter  and  his  associates  ;  for  they  had  to  do  not 
merely  with  the  life  and  estate  of  men,  but  with  their 
eternal  destiny  ! 

The  disciples  did  not  so  understand  their  com- 
mission. Nor  did  Peter  himself  so  understand  it. 
The  nearest  approach  to  the  exercise  of  any  such  au- 
thority was  in  the  case  of  Simon  Magus,  who  had 
played  the  hypocrite  during  a  great  revival  at 
Samaria,  and  had  offered  money  in  return  for  the 
charismata  or  special  gifts  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
Then  Peter  said,  "  Thy  money  perish  with  thee." 
And  the  man  was  filled  with  sudden  remorse.  Now 
was  Peter's  chance.  What  did  he  say  ?  "Absolvote!" 
Oh,  no  :  "  Repent  and  pray  God,  if  perhaps  the 
thought  of  thy  heart  may  be  forgiven  thee." 

Contrast  that  with  the  thing  that  happened  at 
Canossa  when  Henry  11.,  who  had  been  deposed 
from  his  royal  office,  came  over  the  Alps  to  entreat 
papal  absolution.  He  presented  himself  at  the 
gate  of  Gregory  VH.  and  made  his  humble  petition. 
He  was  ordered  to  remain  at  the  gate  and  abstain 
from  food  ;  he  was  further  ordered  to  strip  himself 
of  the  royal  purple  and  put  on  hair-cloth.  At  the 
end  of  three  weary  days  of  penance,  he  was  required 
to  go  into  the  presence  of  Pope  Gregory  and  kiss  his 
feet.  Then,  this  Vicar  of  God  was  pleased  to  say, 
"Absolve  te."  Can  it  for  a  moment  be  believed  that 
God  has  abdicated  his  prerogative  in  this  way  ? 
Shall  we  not  rather  say  that  this  papal  assumption  is 
a  mere  playing  with  holy  things — a  grim  and  blas- 
phemous farce  ? 

The  claim  of  the  Romish  Church  to  the  power  of 
plenary  absolution,  with  its  accessories,  such  as  the 
confessional,  the  indulgence,  the  anathema,  e.Ktreme 


3o8  THE    POWER    OF    THE    KEYS. 

unction,  the  deliverance  of  souls  from  purgatory, 
rests  upon  three  passages  of  Holy  Writ.  Let  us  take 
these  up  seriatim  and  do  our  best  to  arrive  at  the 
truth. 

The  first  of  these  scriptures  is  in  Matt.  xvi.  13-19: 
And  Jesus  asked  his  disciples^  saying.  Who  do  men  say 
that  I  the  Son  of  Man  am?  And  they  said.  Some  say, 
that  thou  art  Johti  the  Baptist ;  so?ne,  Elias  ;  and  others, 
Jeremias,  or  one  of  the  prophets.  He  saith  unto  them. 
But  who  say  ye  that  I  am  ?  And  Simon  Peter  answered 
and  said,  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 
And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Blessed  art  thou, 
Simon  Bar-Jona  :  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it 
unto  thee,  but  my  Father  ivhich  is  in  heaven.  And  I  say 
also  unto  thee,  that  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I 
will  build  my  church;  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it.  And  I  will  give  tmto  thee  the  keys  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  :  and  whatsoever  thou  shall  bind  on 
earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven  :  and  whatsoever  thou  shall 
loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven.'^ 

The  rock  here  referred  to,  which  was  to  be  the 
strong  foundation  of  the  Church,  was  the  good  con- 
fession of  Peter:  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  living  God."  On  this  tremendous  fact  the  Church 
was  to  be  so  established  that  the  gates  of  hell  should 
not  prevail  against  it.  In  reward  for  the  making  of 
that  good  confession,  Simon  the  son  of  Jonas  received 
a  new  name,  to  wit,  Peter  ;  meaning  a  stone  hewn  out 
of  the  rock.  And  he  received  a  still  further  reward 
in  the  Power  of  the  Keys. 

What  are  these  keys  ?  (i)  Certainly  not  the  keys  of 
heaven.  The  picture  of  St.  P.eter  sitting  at  the  gate 
of  the  celestial  city,  as  a  sort  of  ticket-taker,  is  a 
ludicrous  perversion  of  the  truth.     There  are  indeed 


THE    POWER    OF    THE    KEYS.  309 

no  keys  of  heaven.  The  twelve  gates  are  always 
open.  If  any  of  the  souls  that  wander  in  eternal 
darkness  should  desire  to  enter,  the  way  is  clear  ;  but, 
alas  !  their  characters  were  so  crystallized  during 
their  probationary  term  on  earth  that  such  an  attempt 
is  a  moral  impossibility.  They  cannot  because  they 
will  not.  The  only  reason  why  heaven  is  not  invaded 
by  the  lost  spirits  is  because  it  is  an  uncongenial 
place.  Over  its  open  gates  are  written,  "  There  shall 
in  no  wise  enter  anything  that  worketh  abom- 
ination or  maketh  a  lie  ;  but  they  which  are  writ- 
ten in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life."  But  there  is  no 
other  barrier,  there  is  no  warder,  there  are  no  keys. 

Nor  (2)  are  the  keys  here  referred  to  those  of  the 
invisible  Church  ;  that  is,  the  great  fellowship  made  up 
of  all  in  earth  and  heaven  whose  names  are  written 
in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life.  With  this  church-roster 
neither  Peter  nor  any  other  of  the  apostles  nor  any 
ecclesiastical  council  has  aught  to  do.  "And  I  saw, 
in  the  right  hand  of  him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  a 
book  sealed  with  seven  seals.  And  a  strong  angel 
proclaimed.  Who  is  worthy  to  open  the  book  and  to 
loose  the  seals  thereof  '  And  no  man  in  heaven  nor  in 
earth,  neither  under  the  earth  " — not  Peter  nor  any 
other  apostolic  dignitary — "  was  able  to  open  the 
book,  neither  to  look  thereon.  And  I  wept  much 
because  no  man  was  found  worthy  to  open  the  book. 
And  one  of  the  elders  said  unto  me,  Weep  not ; 
behold,  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Juda  hath  prevailed 
to  open  it.  And  they  sang  a  new  song,  saying,  Thou 
art  worthy  to  take  the  book  and  to  open  the  seals 
thereof  .  for  thou  wast  slain  and  hast  redeemed  us 
unto  God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every  kindred,  and 
tongue,  and  people,  and   nation  ;  and   hast   made  us 


3IO  THE    POWER    OF    THE    KEYS. 

to  be  kings  and  priests  unto  our  God."  So  then  it  is 
Christ  who  has  charge  of  the  roster  of  the  invisible 
Church.  This  is  in  line  with  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah: 
"  The  key  of  the  house  of  David  will  I  lay  upon  his 
shoulder."  And,  also,  with  the  message  to  the  Church 
in  Philadelphia  :  *'  These  things  saith  he  that  is  holy, 
he  that  is  true,  he  that  hath  the  key  of  David,  he 
that  openeth  and  no  man  shutteth  ;  and  shutteth,  and 
no  man  openeth  ;  I  know  thy  works  :  behold,  I  have 
set  before  thee  an  open  door,  and  no  man  shall 
shut  it." 

T/iese  keys  must,  therefore,  be  (3)  the  keys  of  the  visible 
Church.  And  this  is  an  historic  fact.  As  the  reward 
of  Peter's  loyalty  to  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  the 
headship  of  Christ,  he  was  commissioned  to  throw 
open  the  doors  of  the  visible  Church  to  the  Gentile 
world.  This  occurred  formally  on  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost. Up  to  that  time  the  Jews  alone,  as  a  distinctly 
chosen  people,  had  been  included  in  the  charmed 
circle.  There  was  a  middle  wall  of  partition  between 
them  and  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  ;  but  on  that 
day  when  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  upon  the  com- 
pany assembled  for  prayer  and  when,  in  response  to 
Peter's  sermon  on  Christ  crucified,  the  whole  as- 
sembly— made  up  of  Jews  and  Greeks,  Parthians, 
Medes,  Elamites,  dwellers  in  Mesopotamia,  and  rep- 
resentatives from  every  portion  of  the  earth — cried 
out,  "  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do?"  Peter 
said,  "Repent  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  your 
sins  ;  for  the  promise  is  unto  you  and  to  your  children 
and  to  all  them  that  are  afar  off  ;  even  to  as  many 
as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call."  Thus  the  middle 
wall    of   partition    was  thrown  down  ;   the   keys    of 


THE    POWER    OF    THE    KEYS.  31I 

the  visible  Church  were  turned  and  the  gates  rolled 
back  to  admit  all  the  penitent  children  of  men. 

It  is  obvious  that  in  this  matter  Peter  stood 
solitary  and  alone.  To  speak  of  a  line  of  successors 
would  be  as  preposterous  as  to  make  a  similar  claim 
with  respect  to  Columbus  in  the  discovery  of  the  new 
world.  The  gates  of  the  Church  were  thrown  open  ; 
there  was  no  further  need  of  the  keys  because  they 
were  thrown  open  once  for  all. 

The  second  scripture  referring  to  this  matter  is  in 
Matt,  xviii.  15-18.  '''' Jf  thy  brother  shall  trespass 
against  thee,  go  and  tell  him  his  fault  bctu>een  thee  and 
him  alone  :  if  he  shall  hear  thee,  thou  hast  gained  thy 
brother.  But  if  he  will  not  hear  thee,  theti  take  with  thee 
one  or  two  more,  that  in  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  wit- 
nesses every  word  may  be  established.  A  fid  if  he  shall 
neglect  to  hear  them,  tell  it  u?iio  the  church  :  but  if  he 
neglect  to  hear  the  church,  let  him  be  unto  thee  as  an 
heatheti  man  and  a  publican.  Verily  J  say  unto  you. 
Whatsoever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in 
heaven  :  and  whatsoever  ye  shall  loose  on  earth  shull  be 
loosed  in  heaven." 

The  power  of  binding  and  loosing,  which  had 
been  conferred  upon  Peter  in  connection  with  the 
Power  of  the  Keys,  is  here  conferred  upon  the  apos- 
tolic circle.  And  inasmuch  as  this  commission  was 
granted  in  immediate  connection  with  the  question 
of  trespass  within  the  Church,  it  is  obvious  that  it 
refers  to  Church  government.  It  is  for  the  appointed 
officers  of  the  Church  to  determine  what  rules  shall 
prevail.  This  is  the  power  of  binding  and  loosing  as 
it  was  understood  in  the  Jewish  Church  ;  as  when 
it  was  said,  "  Shammai  bindeth  and  Hillel  looseth  "  ; 
or  as  Josephus  says,  with  reference  to  certain  ethical 


312  THE    POWER    OF    THE    KEYS. 

rules,  "The  Pharisees  have  power  to  bind  and  loose 
at  will."  The  commission  which  was  here  granted 
to  the  apostolic  circle  involved  a  triple  function  : 

(i)  The  forfnulating  of  terms  of  adtfitssion  to  the 
Church.  It  is  clear  that  there  must  be  some  authority 
to  make  doctrinal  and  ethical  formularies  which  shall 
serve  as  conditions  of  church  membership.  And 
upon  whom  could  this  power  be  so  appropriately 
conferred  as  upon  that  little  circle  which  was  the 
nucleus  of  the  visible  Church  and  constituted  its 
formal  government  ? 

(2)  The  maintenance  of  order  within  the  Church.  This 
is  done  by  the  laying  down  of  certain  rules  of  right 
belief  and  conduct.  This  is  properly  called,  binding 
and  loosing.  The  Council  at  Jerusalem  was  called  to 
settle  the  question  as  to  what  should  be  required  of 
the  Gentile  Christians  with  respect  to  observances 
which  the  Jewish  Christians  regarded  as  obligatory. 
Paul  and  Peter  having  discussed  that  question,  the 
Apostle  James  declared  the  judgment  of  the  court, 
which  was  to  this  effect :  that  on  the  one  hand  the 
Gentile  converts  should  abstain  from  pollutions  of 
idols,  from  fornication,  things  strangled  and  blood  ; 
but  that  on  the  other  hand,  the  )'^oke  of  Jewish  bond- 
age should  be  no  further  placed  upon  them.  Here 
was  a  case  in  which  the  officers  of  the  Church  formally 
exercised  the  power  of  binding  and  loosing,  and  that 
same  power  rests  in  our  ecclesiastical  judicatories  to 
this  day. 

(3)  The  power  to  administer  discipline.  This,  also, 
is  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  order.  A  certain 
man  in  the  Corinthian  Church  was  accused  of  a 
nameless  crime.  He  was  probably  of  good  social 
position,  and  his  offence  was  winked  at.     Paul,  how- 


THE    POWER    OF    THE    KEYS.  313 

ever,  exhorts  the  Corinthian  Church  to  deal  sum- 
marily with  him  ;  he  exhorts  them  to  meet  "  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ"  and  bind  this  evil 
doer  and  deliver  him  over  to  Satan  in  the  hope  of  his 
reclamation  or  "  for  the  destruction  of  the  flesh."  Here 
is  a  case  of  judicial  binding.  It  was  what  we  call 
suspension  or  excommunication.  The  probability  is 
that  there  ought  to  be  a  more  frequent  exercise  of 
this  power  in  the  Church.  A  few  years  ago  a  man 
committed  suicide  in  St.  Paul's  in  London,  and  im- 
mediately it  was  announced  that  there  would  be  a 
formal  purging  and  reconsecration  of  the  Church. 
But  there  are  worse  stains  than  the  blood  of  a  suicide 
in  many  of  our  churches,  of  which  our  ecclesiastical 
dignities  should  take  knowledge  ;  for  the  Church  is 
as  a  city  set  upon  a  hill  whose  light  cannot  be  hid. 

The  third  scripture  bearing  upon  the  matter  in 
hand  is  in  John  xx.  19-23.  "  The  same  day  at  evening, 
being  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when  the  doors  were  shut 
where  the  disciples  were  assembled  for  fear  of  the  Jews, 
catne  Jesus  and  stood  in  the  midst,  and  saith  unto  them. 
Peace  be  unto  you.  And  when  he  had  so  said,  he  shetued 
unto  them  his  hands  and  his  side.  Then  were  the  disciples 
glad,  when  they  saio  the  Lord.  Then  said  Jesus  to  them 
again.  Peace  be  unto  you  :  as  my  Father  hath  sent  me, 
even  so  send  I  you.  And  when  he  had  said  this,  he 
breathed  on  them,  and  said  unto  them.  Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost :  whose  soever  sins  ye  remit  they  are  remitted  unto 
them  ;  and  whose  soever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained:^ 

Here  we  have  the  power  of  absolution.  Observe 
it  is  conferred  not  only  upon  Peter  and  his  fellow 
apostles  nor  only  upon  the  officials  of  the  Church. 
There  were  in  the  upper  chamber  at  this  time  humble 
Christians   who  had  received   no  honor  save  that  of 


314  'i'HE    POWER    OF    THE    KEYS. 

following  Christ.  Whatever  then  this  "power  of 
absolution  "  may  be,  it  is  vested  in  all  believers  alike. 
(i)  There  is  no  reference  here  to  what  is  called  judicial 
or  plenary  absolution ;  that  power  remains  in  divine 
hands,  for  who  can  forgive  sins  but  God  alone  ?  The 
wrong  view  of  this  commission  is  illustrated  in  the 
monk  Tetzel  who  set  up  his  booth  at  Juterbok  and 
announced  that  he  was  prepared  to  grant  indulgences. 
The  most  heinous  of  crimes  could  be  shielded  from 
retribution  by  the  payment  of  a  stipulated  number  of 
florins.  He  proposed,  also,  to  deliver  souls  from 
purgatory  for  a  consideration.  Over  the  chest,  pre- 
pared for  the  receiving  of  the  coins,  was  written  this 
legend  : 

"Soon  as  the  coin  within  this  chest  doth  ring, 
The  soul  shall  straightway  into  heaven  spring." 

How  blasphemous  !  How  puerile  !  What  a  prepos- 
terous interpretation  of  the  Master's  words  !  And 
from  a  similar  perversion  have  arisen  all  the  historic 
crimes  of  the  confessional  and  the  anathema.  The 
whole  race  of  Huguenots  was  placed  under  the  ban  ; 
cursed  in  soul,  body  and  estate ;  doomed  to  death 
temporal  and  eternal.  The  tolling  of  the  bells  of  St. 
Bartholomew  marks  the  climax  of  this  awful  per- 
version of  truth.  Did  ever  Peter  or  any  other  of 
Christ's  apostles  claim  such  authority  as  this  ? 

(2)  The  power  conferred  upon  them  and  upon  all 
believers  in  this  word  of  Jesus  was  that  of  declarative  ab- 
solution. This  is  perfectly  clear  when  the  circum- 
stances are  taken  into  view.  It  was  when  his  dis- 
ciples were  met  in  the  upper  chamber  with  closed 
doors  that  he  suddenly  appeared  among  them  saying, 
"Peace  be  unto  you."  He  then  added,  "As  the 
Father  hath  sent  me  into  the  world,  so  send  I  you." 


THE    POWER    OF    THE    KEYS.  3l5 

What  for  ?     The  Father  hath  sent  him  into  the  world 
to  deliver  the  world  from  sin,  as  he  said  in  the  syna- 
gogue at  Nazareth  when  he  opened  the   Scriptures 
and  read  :  "The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me, 
because  he  has  anointed  me  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  poor  :  he  hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted, 
to  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  recovering 
of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are 
bruised,  and   to   preach    the    acceptable  year  of   the 
Lord";  and  continued,  "This  day  is  this  scripture 
fulfilled  in  your  ears."     As  he  was  sent  to  proclaim 
deliverance  by   the  power  of    the  great  sacrifice  on 
Golgotha,    so    are    these    sent    to    ponit    the   nations 
toward  the  cross.     Here  is  the  only  absolution;  ab- 
solution   by    faith    in  our    Lord    and    Saviour   Jesus 
Christ.     And  having  thus  spoken  of  their  errand,  he 
breathed  on  his  disciples  and  said,  "Receive  ye  the 
Holy  Ghost."     Here  was  their  qualification  for  the 
great    work    of    evangelization    and    then    came    the 
words,  "  Whose  soever  sins  ye   remit,  they  shall  be 
remitted  ;  and  whose  soever  sins  ye  retain,  they  shall 
be  retained."     The  word  of  every  believer,  who  an- 
nounces   absolution  in    Jesus    Christ,    is    ratified    in 
heaven.     The  humblest  of  all  Christians  is  commis- 
sioned to  go,  saying,  "  He  that  believeth  in  the  Son 
hath  everlasting  life  ;  and  he  that  believeth  not,  the 
wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him."     That  is,  his  sin  shall 
be  remitted  or  retained  just  as  he  accepts  or  rejects 
the  proffer  of  mercy  in  the  crucified  son  of  God, 

(3)  Here  then  a  grave  responsibility  rests  on  us. 
The  true  apostolic  succession  is  in  this,  that  we  are  all 
sent  and  instructed  precisely  as  the  apostles  were,  to  declare 
absolution  in  Christ.  The  world  will  be  converted 
when    all    Christians   shall    be  faithful  in  this  office. 


3l6  THE    POWER    OF    THE    KEYS. 

Go  ye  everywhere  and  evangelize.  We  have  power 
to  convert,  as  it  is  written  :  "  He  that  converteth  a 
sinner  from  the  error  of  his  ways  shall  save  a  soul 
from  death,  and  hide  a  multitude  of  sins."  We  have 
power  to  remit  sins  in  this,  that  we  can  point  sinners 
to  the  saving  power  of  the  cross.  And,  alas  !  it  is  for 
us  also  to  "  retain  "  the  sins  of  the  impenitent  upon 
them,  as  we  oftentimes  do,  by  our  neglect  to  warn 
them  of  the  wrath  to  come  and  offer  the  pardoning 
grace  of  God.  We  are,  in  a  sense,  responsible  for  the 
destinies  of  men.  The  world  lieth  in  darkness  be- 
cause God  awaits  the  faithfulness  of  his  people. 
How  long  will  the  wheels  of  his  chariot  tarry  ?  Until 
you  and  I  shall  do  our  duty. 

A  man  on  his  death-bed  recently  confessed  that 
a  former  friend  of  his  had  been  five  years  in  prison 
for  a  crime  of  which  he  was  wholly  innocent. 
The  facts  which  would  have  released  this  prisoner  at 
any  moment,  had  long  been  in  his  possession,  but 
personal  considerations  restrained  him.  He  could  not 
divulge  what  he  knew  without  incriminating  himself; 
so  for  five  long  years  he  had  kept  silence.  There  are 
souls  in  prison  everywhere — all  "concluded  under 
sin  " — we  have  in  our  possession  the  information  that 
can  release  them.  It  is  for  us  to  open  the  prison 
doors  and  bid  the  oppressed  go  free.  It  is  for  us  to 
declare  absolution  in  the  name  of  the  Crucified  One. 
Have  we  nothing  to  say  ?  Hear  the  word  of  the 
Lord  :  "If  I  say  unto  the  wicked,  Thou  shalt  surely 
die,  and  thou  givest  him  no  warning,  he  shall  die  in 
his  sins,  but  his  blood  will  I  require  at  thy  hand  ' 
And  hear  again  the  word  of  the  Lord  :  "  They  that 
be  wise,  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firma- 
ment ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness,  as 
the  stars  forever  and  ever." 


MASQUERADING. 

"  Why  feignest  thou  thyself  to  be  another  ?  "—I.  Kings  xiv.  6. 

A  queen  disguised  in  the  russet  garb  of  a  peasant, 
basket  on  arm,  goes  trudging  wearily,  afoot  and  alone, 
from  the  palace  at  Tirzah  up  to  the  prophet's  house. 
She  is  the  wife  of  Jeroboam,  that  Jeroboam  who  has 
come  down  through  history  marked  with  the  stigma, 
"who  made  Israel  to  sin."  There  is  trouble  in 
the  palace  ;  the  first-born  son,  heir  of  the  throne, 
lies  at  the  point  of  death.  The  altars  of  Baal 
burn  upon  the  heights,  but  there  is  no  help  there. 
God  only  can  relieve,  and  to  him  the  sore-hearted 
mother  goes  in  her  extremity.  The  seer  Ahijah,  old 
and  blind,  has  long  been  alienated  from  the  throne. 
In  her  peasant's  mask,  she  hopes  to  deceive  him  and 
secure  a  blessing  on  her  child.  But  he  hears  her 
coming;  he  knows  her  footstep.  "Come  in,"  he 
cries  at  her  approach  ;  "  come  in,  thou  wife  of  Jero- 
boam. Why  feignest  thou  thyself  to  be  another?" 
"Thus,"  says  Bishop  Hall,  "  God  laughs  at  the  friv- 
olous tricks  of  foolish  men  who  think  to  dance  in  their 
nets  and  be  unseen  of  heaven." 

Life  as  a  masquerade  ending  with  a  transforma- 
tion scene,  "  Masks  off !  "—this  is  our  lesson  to-day. 

(3'7) 


3l8  MASQUERADING. 

"  All  the  world's  a  stage, 
And  all  the  men  and  women  merely  players; 
They  have  their  exits  and  their  entrances; 
And  one  man  in  his  time  plays  many  parts, 
His  acts  being  seven  ages." 

"  Great  is  paint  !  "  cries  Cadyle.  Fashion  came 
in  with  the  fall  ;  fashion  is  falsehood,  and  falsehood 
rules  the  world.  We  are  none  of  us  precisely  what 
we  seem  to  be.  In  one  of  Coleridge's  letters  he  speaks 
of  a  state  dinner  at  which  he  sat  opposite  a  bald  and 
venerable  gentleman  of  most  imposing  presence : 
dome-like  forehead  and  profound  eyes,  his  whole 
appearance  suggesting  moral  power.  "If  he  would 
but  speak,"  thought  Coleridge,  "  what  wisdom  should 
we  hear,  what  breathing  thoughts  in  burning 
words."  Suddenly  the  man  spake:  "  Gi'  me  them 
dumplin's,  will  you  ?  Them's  the  jockeys  for  me." 
The  oracle  had  been  heard  from  and  the  spell  was 
broken.  We  cannot  determine  the  inward  man  from 
the  outward  appearance.      Appearances  deceive. 

Charles  Lamb  says,  "  The  only  honest  men  are 
beggars.  The  ups  and  downs  of  the  world  concern 
them  not.  The  prices  of  stock  or  land  affect  them 
not.  They  are  not  expected  to  become  bail  or  surety 
for  any.  No  man  troubles  them  with  questions 
of  religion  or  politics.  They  are  never  out  of  fash- 
ion nor  limp  awkwardly  behind  it.  They  put  not 
on  court  mourning.  They  wear  all  colors,  fearing 
none.  They  are  the  only  people  in  the  universe  who 
are  not  obliged  to  study  appearances."  But  even 
beggars  have  been  known  to  be  insincere.  Can  you 
trust  the  man  who  presents  himself  at  your  door  with 
a  plea  for  charity  and  a  talc  of  better  days  ?  Not 
long  ago  a  beggar  died  in  the  upper  end  of  Manhat- 


MASQUERADING.  319 

tan  Island,  and  his  poverty  was  found  to  be  a  mere 
make-believe;  for  there  was  money  under  his  mattress, 
money  in  the  tea-pot,  money  on  his  mantel,  money 
under  the  hearth,  money  in  the  ground  under  the 
rose  bush.  No,  we  cannot  even  trust  our  beggars  ; 
they,  too,  are  merely  players. 

The  Psalmist  wrote,  "  I  said  in  my  haste,  All  men 
are  liars  "  ;  on  which  Adam  Clarke  quaintly  remarked, 
"Had  he  lived  in  our  time,  he  might  have  said  it  at 
his  leisure."  Where  shall  Diogenes  go  with  his  lan- 
tern to  find  a  thoroughly  honest  man  ?  To  the  market 
place  ?  What  a  flutter  there  would  be  in  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  if  all  its  members  were  required  to  ap- 
pear some  day  with  Bradstreet's  rating  on  their  fore- 
heads and  their  balance  sheets  pinned  upon  their 
breasts.  In  society?  "Great  is  paint!"  Beau 
Brummel  and  Miss  Flora  McFlimsey  still  live.  Hands 
and  feet,  bright  eyes  and  auburn  hair,  red  lips,  fair 
complexion,  pearly  teeth,  buttered  words,  warm  kisses 
and  solemn  vows — how  often  they  are  wholly  false  : 
how  seldom  wholly  true.  Or  in  politics  ?  There  is 
probably  as  much  of  honesty  here  as  in  any  depart- 
ment of  life,  because  the  politician  is  perforce  under 
the  people's  eyes  ;  his  business  is  everybody's  busi- 
ness, and  he  must  needs  take  heed  to  his  ways.  But 
of  log-rolling  and  pipe-laying  and  wire-pulling  there 
is  plenty  and  to  spare.  And  who  is  able  to  discern 
between  the  demagogue  and  the  people's  friend  ?  In 
the  Church  then,  surely?  Nay.  It  was  into  this 
charmed  circle  that  the  Lord  himself  came  to  speak 
of  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing  and  of  whited  sepulchres 
and  of  actors  wearing  masks,  for  this  is  the  meaning 
of  the  word  "hypocrite,"  a  man  under  a  mask.  I  am 
not  saying  that  all  men  mean  to  be  dishonest,  but  that 


320  MASQUERADING. 

there  is,  wittingly  or  otherwise,  a  measure  of  dishon- 
esty in  all,  and  churchmen  are  made  of  common 
dust. 

"  The  cleanest  corn  that  e'er  was  dight 
May  hae  some  pyles  o'  caff  in." 

So  that  having  done  our  best,  as  human  nature  goes, 
we  may  still  confess  that  Robbie  Burns  was  not  wholly 
without  excuse  when  he  sang  : 

"  O  ye  wha  are  sae  guid  yoursel', 
Sae  pious  and  sae  holy, 
Ye've  nought  to  do  but  mark  and  tell 
Your  neebor's  fauts  and  folly. 

*'  Ye  see  your  state  wi'  theirs  compared, 
And  shudder  at  the  niffer; 
But  cast  a  moment's  fair  regard, 
What  makes  the  mighty  differ? 

"  Discount  what  scant  occasion  gave 
That  purity  ye  pride  in. 
And  (what's  aft  mair  than  a'  the  lave) 
Your  better  art  o'  hidin'." 

In  view  of  these  facts,  there  are  certain  considera- 
tions which  we  may  profitably  dwell  on. 

I.  God  knows  us.  We  may  deceive  others.  Indeed 
in  the  interest  of  self-protection  we  feel  obliged  to  do 
it.  A  man  whose  name  is  a  synonym  for  purity  of 
character  said  once,  "If  there  were  a  window  in  my 
breast,  I  would  not  dare  to  walk  along  the  streets 
lest  the  very  boys  should  throw  stones  at  me." 

We  may  deceive  ourselves.  Indeed  we  scarcely 
can  avoid  doing  so.  It  was  very  well  for  Thales  to 
say,  "  Man,  know  thyself."  But  how  is  a  man  to 
know  himself  when  his  constant  effort  is  to  avoid  ap- 


MASQUERADING.  321 

pearing  in  propria  persona  ?  They  say  that  Edwin 
Booth  played  Hamlet  in  such  a  manner  that  he  lost 
all  consciousness  of  self,  and  in  course  of  time  there 
were  those  among  his  friends  who  asserted  that  he 
began  to  look  like  Hamlet  and  think  like  him. 

But  we  cannot  deceive  God.  "  O  Lord,  thou  hast 
searched  me,  and  known  me.  Thou  knowest  my  down- 
sitting  and  mine  uprising  ;  thou  understandest  my 
thought  afar  off.  Thou  hast  beset  me  behind  and 
before,  and  laid  thine  hand  upon  me.  Such  knowl- 
edge is  too  wonderful  for  me  ;  it  is  high;  I  cannot 
attain  unto  it.  Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  Spirit  ?  or 
whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  presence  ?  If  I  ascend 
up  into  heaven,  thou  art  there  ;  if  I  make  my  bed  in 
hell,  behold,  thou  art  there.  If  I  take  the  wings  of 
the  morning,  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
sea,  even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right 
hand  shall  hold  me.  If  I  say.  Surely  the  darkness 
shall  cover  me  ;  even  the  night  shall  be  light  about 
me.  Yea,  the  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee  ;  but  the 
night  shineth  as  the  day  :  the  darkness  and  the  light 
are  both  alike  to  thee." 

Our  physicians  have  long  been  wishing  that  some 
method  might  be  devised  by  which  they  could  look 
into  the  human  frame  and  observe  the  processes  of 
life,  A  recent  application  of  electricity  is  said  to 
make  this  possible.  Under  the  powerful  light  the 
physical  system  is  illuminated  ;  the  hand  becomes 
translucent,  showing  bones  and  veins,  the  quivering 
of  sinew  and  the  circulation  of  blood.  It  was  not 
necessary,  however,  for  God  to  await  this  develop- 
ment of  science.  His  eyes  have  ever  searched  us 
through  and  through  ;  all  things  are  naked  and  open 
before  him. 


322  MASQUERADING. 

II.  Life  proves  us.  We  speak  of  passing  through  a 
probation  here.  We  are  always  under  fire  and  acid, 
so  that  character  is  brought  out  more  and  more  as 
the  years  pass  on. 

We  may  carry '  on  our  deceptions  voluntary  and 
involuntary  for  a  season  with  success.  A  bookkeeper 
recently  confessed  that  for  twenty  years  and  more  he 
had  been  tampering  with  day-book  and  ledger,  mak- 
ing artificial  offsets  and  drawing  false  balances  ;  but 
all  the  while  his  deception  was  growing  more  and 
more  tense  ;  the  denouement  was  only  a  question  of 
time.  The  trouble  with  this  man  was  that  he  allowed 
himself  to  live  too  long.  He  went  too  far  with  the 
play.  The  curtain  should  have  fallen  before  the  fifth 
act. 

Then  exposure  !  There  are  exposures  every  day. 
The  newspapers  are  full  of  them.  How  we  gloat  over 
them  like  jackals  at  their  prey.  If  men  who  are  con- 
scious frauds  live  long  enough,  life  will  certainly  ex- 
pose them.  So  Ahab  went  up  to  battle  at  Ramoth- 
Gilead  well  clad  in  a  disguise.  Quite  safe  he  thought; 
but,  alas  !  in  the  midst  of  the  conflict,  an  arrow,  shot 
at  a  venture,  smote  him  between  the  joints  of  the  har- 
ness and  he  fell,  crying,  "Carry  me  out,  for  I  am 
wounded  and  discovered  !  " 

Then  come  the  retributions  of  time.  Our  un- 
staged  actors  are  sometimes  given  "benefits"  on  the 
mimic  stage,  but  never  in  real  life.  Aaron  Burr,  dur- 
ing his  later  years,  declined  to  attend  church  because 
no  man  would  open  a  pew  door  to  him.  The  former 
apostle  of  aesthetics,  who  has  recently  been  exposed 
in  London,  is  so  wholly  under  the  ban  that  his  very 
name  is  unspoken.  No  mercy  for  him  !  Why  ?  He 
is  no  more  false  and  vicious  and  abhorrent  than  ever; 


MASQUERADING.  323 

but  he  has  played  out  his  fifth  act.  There  are  ten 
commandments  which  severally  begin,  "  Thus  saith 
the  Lord."  There  is  an  eleventh  which  begins,  "  Thus 
saith  the  devil  "  ;  and  it  is,  "  Thou  shalt  not  be  found 
out." 

III.  Death  unmasks  us.  Therefore  we  speak  of 
death  as  the  King  of  Terrors.  Were  it  otherwise, 
death  would  be  to  us  the  fairest  of  God's  angels. 
But,  alas  !  at  the  border  line  between  time  and  eter- 
nity, all  dominoes  fall  off. 

Go  out  into  the  graveyard  and  heed  not  the 
monuments  there  nor  the  brave  epitaphs,  for  in  these 
are  preserved  all  the  adventitious  distinctions  of  life  ; 
but  go  down  under  the  sod,  where  the  resurrection 
angel  will  go,  and  fill  your  hand  with  mingled  earth 
and  lo  !  all  the  analytic  chemists  on  earth  cannot  de- 
termine which  is  millionaire's  and  which  is  beggar's 
dust. 

Oo  up  to  the  great  assize.  See  yonder  on  the 
throne  the  Honest  Judge,  the  only  Honest  Judge  earth 
ever  saw,  and  mark  how  he  determines  all  cases  in 
equity.  Pilate  and  Herod  are  before  him,  cowering 
and  hiding  their  faces.  Here  greatness  seems  little 
and  humility  is  great.  Death  is  a  mighty  leveller. 
Nero  drops  his  sceptre  and  Alexaminos,  the  Christian 
slave  who  toiled  in  his  kitchen,  is  crowned  with  honor. 
Here  Catharine  de  Medici,  the  enchantress  of  popes 
and  prelates,  wrings  her  blood-stained  hands,  and  the 
Magdalene,  who  wept  upon  the  Master's  feet,  passes 
into  the  endless  life.  Here  is  a  universal  adjustment; 
the  crooked  things  are  all  made  straight  ;  there  are 
no  deceptions  now. 

Honest  at  last  !     Honest  at  last  and  forever.    The 
hypocrite's  hope  is  swept  away  like  a  spider's  web. 


324  MASQUERADING. 

All  deceivers  have  been  turned  out  of  their  refuges  of 
lies  and  their  soul  shines  as  the  day  ;  for  the  light  of 
God  shines  through  them. 

And  what  are  the  lessons  from  all  this  ?  One 
only  :  Be  honest  ;  be  true.  Provide  things  honest  in 
the  sight  of  all  men.  Live  up  to  your  profession. 
Esse  quam  videri — to  be  rather  than  to  seem — is  the 
motto  for  an  upright  life.  Live  in  singleness  of  heart, 
as  unto  Christ ;  not  with  eye-service  as  men-pleasers, 
but  doing  the  will  of  God  from  the  heart. 

Let  us  be  true  to  ourselves.     Nature  is  truth. 

"  To  thine  own  self  be  true, 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

But  we  cannot  be  true  to  ourselves  unless  there  is  a 
reserve  of  character  within  us.  The  difference  be- 
tween the  wise  and  foolish  virgins  was  that  the  lat- 
ter took  "no  oil  in  their  vessels  with  their  lamps." 
Their  lamps  burned,  too,  but  the  wicks  were  charred 
and  the  flame  flickered  and  went  out.  It  is  only  the 
man  with  character  who  can  dare  to  show  himself  as 
he  is.  And  the  basis  of  character  is  in  the  imitation 
of  Christ.  He  is  the  only  honest  man  whom  God 
ever  looked  on.  Therefore,  he  said,  "This  is  my  be- 
loved Son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."  He  was  what 
he  seemed  to  be.  He  spake  what  he  felt.  He  was 
ever  true  to  his  convictions.  He  hated  sham  and 
pretence.  He  was  in  all  his  thought  and  character 
as  transparent  as  the  day.  The  nearer  we  approach 
to  his  character,  the  closer  do  we  come  to  the  full 
stature  of  a  man — frank,  honest,  ingenuous  manhood. 
The  most  heart-searching  prayer  that  ever  was  of- 
fered, the  bravest  and   most  awful,  is  that  prayer  of 


MASQUERADING.  325 

David:  "Search  me,  O  God,  and  try  me."  The 
man  who  made  that  prayer  had  proven  his  valor  in 
many  brave  struggles.  As  a  boy  he  had  gone  down 
into  a  pit  on  a  snowy  day  and  slain  a  lion;  as  a  strip- 
ling he  had  gone  out  with  a  sling  against  the  cham- 
pion Philistine  ;  as  a  man  he  had  met  the  hosts  of  the 
enemy,  again  and  again,  on  the  high  places  of  the 
field  ;  but  never  had  David  done  so  brave  a  thing  as 
in  this  prayer,  "  O  God,  search  me."  Can  we  make 
that  prayer  ?  Can  we  bow  down  and  plead  with  God 
to  throw  into  the  centre  of  our  hearts  the  searchlight 
of  his  own  fierce  gaze,  and  expose  our  frailties  and 
falsities?  Herein  is  all  of  confession  and  penitence. 
Lord,  search  me  ;  show  me  myself  ;  try  me  and  see 
if  there  be  any  evil  way  in  me  ;  then  forgive  the  evil 
for  Jesus'  sake,  and  lead  me  in  the  way  everlast- 
ing ;  lead  me  in  the  sunlit  path  of  true,  honest,  in- 
genuous Christlike  manhood. 

*'  Lord,  make  me  like  Thyself  ; 
Lord,  make  me  be  myself  ; 
Seeming  as  one  who  lives  to  Thee 
And  being  what  I  seem  to  be." 


WHOM  THE  SON  MAKES  FREE. 

"  Then  said  Jesus  to  those  Jews  that  believed  on  him,  If  ye  continue  in  my 
words  then  are  ye  my  disciples  indeed  ;  and  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and 
the  truth  shall  make  you  free.  They  answered  him,  We  be  Abraham's 
seed  and  were  never  in  bondage  to  any  man  how  sayest  thou.  Ye  shall 
be  made  free  ?  Jesus  answered  them.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  Who- 
soever c^mmitteth  sin  is  the  servant  of  sin.  And  the  servant  abideth  not 
in  the  house  forever  :  but  the  Son  abideth  ever.  If  the  Son  therefore 
shall  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed." — John  viii.  31-36. 

Our  Lord  was  here  speaking  to  certain  Jews 
who  "believed  on  him."  Their  faith,  however,  must 
have  been  very  rudimentary.  They  had  seen  his 
miracles  and  were  prepared  to  say  with  Nicodemus, 
"No  man  can  do  these  miracles  that  thou  doest  except 
God  be  with  him."  They  had  heard  his  sermons, 
marvellous  sermons  on  the  tremendous  truths  of  the 
endless  life,  and  they  were  prepared  to  say  like  the 
Roman  guard,  "  Never  man  spake  like  this  man." 
But  it  was  Christ's  purpose  to  lead  them  on  to  a 
larger  measure  of  faith  and  devotion.  "  If  ye  would 
be  my  disciples,"  said  he,  "continue  in  my  word  and 
ye  shall  know  the  truth  and  the  truth  shall  make  you 
free." 

But  these  words  awoke  within  them  a  spirit  of  re- 
sentment. "We  are  the  children  of  Abraham,"  they 
retorted,  "  and  were  never  in  bondage  to  any  man. 
How  sayest  thou,  Ye  shall  be  made  free  ?  "  Had  they 
forgotten  then  the  long  captivity  in  Egypt,  the  weary 

(326) 


WHOM    THE    SON    MAKES    FREE.  327 

toiling  in  the  brick-yards,  the  hard  task-masters  and 
the  whips  of  scorpions  ?  Or  had  they  forgotten  the 
seventy  years  of  their  Babylonish  captivity,  when 
they  hanged  their  harps  by  the  willows  and  wept 
at  the  remembrance  of  Zion  ?  Or  were  they 
oblivious  of  the  fact  that  at  this  moment  they  were 
ground  down  under  the  most  absolute  tyranny  the 
world  had  ever  seen  ?  They  had  lost  all  the  func- 
tions of  self-government,  were  paying  tribute  to 
Rome,  and  the  standard  of  the  golden  eagle  was 
at  the  temple  door.  Nay,  these  things  they  re- 
membered well  ;  but  their  reference  was  to  moral 
bondage.  As  the  seed  of  Abraham,  they  were  a 
chosen  people.  They  might  be  bound  with  fetters 
and  manacles,  but  they  could  not  be  deprived  of 
their  birthright  of  spiritual  freedom. 

And  it  was  in  this  sense  that  Jesus  understood 
them,  as  his  answer  indicates  :  "Verily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  you,  whosoever  committeth  sin  is  the  servant  of 
sin.  Ye  say  ye  are  children  of  Abraham,  but  have 
ye  forgotten  that  Abraham  had  two  sons  ;  the  one  of 
whom  dwelt  in  his  father's  house  and  received  the  in- 
heritance, while  the  other  was  sent  forth  into  exile  to 
make  his  home  among  the  fastnesses  of  the  hills  ? 
It  is  quite  possible,  therefore,  for  you  to  be  children 
of  Abraham  and  yet  be  in  spiritual  bondage."  But 
the  only  begotten  Son  of  God  has  power  of  manu- 
mission; "  If  the  Son  therefore  shall  make  you  free, 
ye  shall  be  free  indeed." 

The  freedom  here  referred  to  is  the  same  men- 
tioned by  the  Apostle  Paul  in  writing  to  the  Gala- 
tians  :  "  Stand  fast  therefore  in  the  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  hath  made  you  free."  And,  also,  in  his  letter 
to   the  Romans  where  he  says,  "  The  creation   itself 


328  WHOM    THE    SON  MAKES    FREE. 

shall   be  delivered  from  the  bondage  of   corruption 
into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God." 

The  Jews  had  been  looking  for  a  Messiah  to  de- 
liver them  from  the  tyranny  of  the  Roman  govern- 
ment; he  was  expected  to  come  and  restore  the  glory 
to  Israel.  No  doubt  the  Jews  here  addressed  supposed 
that  Jesus  was  this  promised  Messiah  and  would  set 
up  his  throne  in  Jerusalem  as  the  successor  of  David. 
His  words,  however,  must  have  disillusioned  them. 
He  had  come  to  be  a  liberator,  indeed,  but  from 
spiritual  bondage  ;  as  when  he  said  at  the  outset  of 
his  ministry  in  Nazareth,  that  he  had  come  to  preach 
deliverance  to  the  captives,  to  bring  those  whose 
souls  had  been  led  captive  by  the  prince  of  darkness 
into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God. 

We  are  always  in  danger  of  a  misapprehen- 
sion with  respect  to  freedom.  In  the  time  of 
the  Reign  of  Terror  the  mobs  of  Paris  wrote  upon 
the  dead  walls,  "  Liberty,  Equality,  Fraternity  !  " — 
words  of  which  they  had  no  true  apprehension  what- 
ever. To  them  liberty  meant  license  ;  equality  meant 
the  levelling  down  of  all  who  had  attained  to  great- 
ness ;  and  fraternity  meant  the  spoliation  and  distri- 
bution of  all  things.  On  her  way  to  the  guillotine 
Madame  Roland,  as  she  passed  the  statue  of  Freedom 
in  the  Place  de  la  Revolution,  is  said  to  have  ex- 
claimed, "O  Freedom  !  what  crimes  are  perpetrated 
in  thy  name  !  "  It  is  greatly  to  be  feared  that  there 
is  a  false  notion  of  moral  freedom  in  many  minds. 
What  is  this  "  glorious  freedom  "  into  which  the  only 
begotten  Son  of  the  Father  brings  us  ? 

I.  Negatively.     It  is  a  deliverance  from  three  task 
masters,    to    wit:  sin,   the  bondage    of   law,  and    the 
tyranny  of  self. 


WHOM    THE    SON    MAKES    FREE.  329 

(i)  It  is  a  deliverance  from  sin.  The  man  who  is 
morally  enfranchised  is  made  free  not  in  sin  but/r<?;// 
sin.  To  be  free  in  sin  is  indeed  an  impossibility, 
"  For  he  that  doeth  sin,"  that  is  habitually,  "  is  a 
bondslave  of  it."  The  man  who  goes  reeling  through 
the  street  this  morning  after  a  night  of  revelry,  is  as 
really  a  slave  as  if  the  drink  habit  in  personal  form 
were  seen  to  be  scourging  him  at  every  step.  So  also 
are  the  victims  of  impurity  and  the  gaming  habit  and 
avarice  and  unholy  ambition.  They  are  enslaved  as 
Samson  was  after  his  eyes  were  put  out  and  he  was 
compelled  to  sit  grinding  like  a  woman  at  the  mill  in 
the  doorway  of  Dagon.  Sin  is  a  hard  taskmaster  ;  it 
welds  our  fetters  while  bidding  us  eat,  drink  and  be 
merry,  delighting  ourselves  in  the  way  of  our  heart 
and  the  sight  of  our  eyes.  I  am  under  the  dominion 
of  the  vices  that  control  me.  My  soul  is  in  pawn  to 
them  and  can  never  be  free  till  the  Mighty  One  shall 
redeem  it  ;  but  in  Christ  "  sin  hath  no  more  dominion 
over  us." 

(2)  In  Christ  we  are  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  the 
law;  not  from  the  government  of  law,  but  from  its 
tyranny.  For  there  are  two  ways  of  obeying  the  law. 
Here  is  a  gang  of  workmen  on  the  highway  breaking 
stone  ;  they  are  clothed  in  prison  garb  and  every  one 
has  a  ball  and  chain  upon  his  ankle  while  the  task- 
master stands  near  by.  Ask  them  if  they  love  the 
law,  and  they  will  answer  that  they  hate  it.  The 
law  is  their  enemy  ;  the  law  has  put  ihat  chain  upon 
them  ;  the  law  hath  clothed  them  in  those  garments 
of  shame,  and  they  hate  it.  Ask  them  if  they  keep 
the  law,  and  they  will  answer  that  they  keep  it  per- 
force. Are  they  not  under  the  eye  of  the  taskmaster  ? 
To  break  the  law  would  be  to  incur  a  deeper  punish- 


330  WHOM    THE    SON    MAKES    FREE. 

ment  :  they  dare  not  do  it.  But  here  are  citizens  go- 
ing about  the  street  in  pursuance  of  their  ordinary 
vocations  who  keep  the  law  because  they  are  in 
sympathy  with  the  purposes  of  the  Commonwealth. 
They  observe  the  statutes  and  ordinances  because 
they  desire  the  well-being  of  the  community.  To 
them  obedience  is  not  a  matter  of  necessity  but  of 
second  nature.  In  both  these  cases  the  law  is  kept;  but 
the  gang  of  prisoners  are  in  bondage  under  it,  while 
the  others  are  free.  In  like  manner  there  are  those 
who  obey  the  divine  laws  because  of  the  stern  require- 
ment of  duty  ;  while  there  are  others,  such  as  the 
Son  has  made  free,  who  keep  the  law  because  they 
love  it.  They  have  entered  into  what  the  Apostle 
James  calls,  "  The  perfect  law  of  liberty."  So  as  Paul 
says,  "  We  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage 
again  to  fear  ;  but  the  spirit  of  adoption  whereby  we 
cry,  Abba  Father."  The  moral  code  is  an  expression 
of  the  government  of  heaven  of  which  we  know  our- 
selves to  be  a  part ;  and  the  lawgiver  is  our  Father, 
and  we  obey  because  we  love  him. 

(3)  In  Christ  we  are  also  liberated  from  the  tyranny 
of  self  .  A  man  has,  so  to  speak,  two  selves  or  two 
natures,  a  higher  and  a  lower.  Paul  calls  them  the 
old  man  and  the  new  man,  or  the  old  Adam  and  the 
new  Adam.  And  these  two  are  ever  in  conflict  striv- 
ing for  the  mastery.  There  is  a  war  in  my  members 
so  that  the  good  I  would,  that  I  do  not  ;  and  the  evil 
that  I  would  not,  that  I  do.  Our  eternal  destiny  de- 
pends upon  the  outcome.  I  am  sensible  of  the  fact 
that  there  is  something  divine  in  me.  I  feel  my  heart 
moved  at  times  with  noble  aims  and  purposes  and 
aspirations.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  I  am  drawn 
down  by  my  baser  nature.     The  Son  of  God  offers 


WHOM    THE    SON    MAKES    FREE.  331 

his  aid  in  determining  this  strife.  He  comes  like  the 
stranger  who  stood  in  Florence  before  the  fowler's 
shop,  fresh  from  the  horrors  of  a  Moslem  prison,  gaz- 
ing on  a  cage  of  birds  that  were  beating  their  poor 
wings  against  the  bars  ;  out  of  his  paltry  treasury, 
he  purchased  the  cage  and  opened  it  and  watched 
with  a  great  joy  the  poor  prisoners  as  they  mounted  sky- 
ward. Our  Master  has  come  to  give  freedom  to  the 
nobler  aims  and  purposes  that  struggle  within  us,  the 
"  winged  things,"  as  Plato  called  them,  to  soar  aloft 
in  their  native  air  free,  free  in  the  glorious  liberty  of 
the  children  of  God. 

II.  But  this  freedom  has  a  more  positive  side.  We  are 
delivered  from  the  bondage  of  the  law  and  from  the 
tyranny  of  self,  but  unto  what  ? 

(i)  Christ  makes  us  free  in  the  glorious  quest  of  tfuth. 
A  man  is  never  so  noble  as  when  searching  for  truth, 
for  its  price  is  above  rubies.  The  gold  of  Ophir  can- 
not be  compared  with  it. 

No  man  is  a  true  follower  of  Christ  who  is  not 
in  the  best  and  highest  sense  a  free-thinker.  But 
this  is  not  to  say  that  in  his  pursuit  of  truth  he 
refuses  to  recognize  certain  laws  and  limitations. 
How  does  a  pirate  ship  differ  from  a  merchant- 
man ?  In  having  no  "  papers,"  in  sailing  by  no  chart. 
She  is  a  rover  of  the  seas,  going  hither  and  yon 
at  her  free  will  in  search  of  plunder.  Fire  a  shot 
across  her  bows  and  she  hoists  the  black  flag,  which 
means  that  she  sails  under  no  governmental  privileges 
and  recognizes  no  authority.  Is  this  the  type  of  free- 
dom ?  Nay,  rather  the  merchant  ship  that  sails  along 
her  appointed  course  under  the  protection  of  a 
national  flag  and  engaged  in  legitimate  commerce. 
A  true  free-thinker  is  indeed  an  adventurer  ;  he  does 


332  WHOM    THE    SON    MAKES    FREE. 

not  pause  at  those  pillars  of  Hercules  whereon  is 
written,  Ne  plus  ultra.  To  him  there  is  always  more 
beyond,  and  he  sails  forth  to  those  new  worlds  which 
ever  await  a  bold  mariner  in  moral  realm.s.  But  here 
as  everywhere  there  must  be  a  recognition  of  just 
authority.  To  this  end  we  have  received  the  Scrip- 
tures. The  Bible  is  the  chart  we  sail  by.  A  "  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  ','  is  the  end  of  all  controversy  for  us. 
His  word  is  the  truth  that  makes  us  free. 

(2)  We  are  made  free  ^furthermore ,  for  the  acquisition 
of  character.  And  character  is  the  most  desirable 
thing  in  all  the  world.  There  is  nothing  better  than 
that  a  man  should  add  grace  to  grace  until  he  shall 
attain  unto  the  fulness  of  moral  stature.  But  in  all 
this  there  must  be  a  working  basis.  To  this  end 
again  we  have  received  the  Scriptures  ;  in  these  we 
have  a  moral  code,  a  system  of  ethics  so  perfect  that 
even  the  enemies  of  revelation  are  slow  to  find  fault 
with  it.  To  undertake  the  building  of  character 
without  such  an  authoritative  code  is  to  court  failure  ; 
hence  the  unveracity  of  the  Arabs,  the  impurity  of 
the  Turks,  the  dishonesty  of  the  Egyptians.  It  is  not 
enough,  however,  that  we  shall  have  this  ethical  code  ; 
there  must  be  somewhere  a  living  illustration  of  it. 
An  art  student  does  not  complete  his  course  until  he 
has  passed  through  the  life-class.  He  must  see  the 
living  eyes  of  the  model,  the  muscles  in  play  or  in  re- 
pose. So  we  have  Jesus  the  ideal  man  ;  the  only  one 
who  ever  lived  on  earth  of  whom  it  could  be  said, 
"He  is  as  good  as  the  law."  He  is  our  Exemplar  in  our 
effort  to  regain  our  lost  glory, — the  likeness  of  God 
In  him  we  find  the  free  play  of  all  our  faculties  along 
the  lines  of  virtue  and  manhood.     We  make  our  best 


w 


HOM    THE    SON    MAKES    FREE.  333 


progress  toward  character   when  we  go  looking  unto 
Jesus  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith. 

(3)  In  Christ  we  are  brought  forth  into  the  privileges 
of  service.  Truth  is  of  no  value  as  an  abstract  thing. 
The  graces  of  character  are  nothing  in  themselves. 
Gold  and  silver  in  bags  are  worthless,  worthless  until 
they  be  put  into  circulation  for  the  feeding  of  the 
hungry,  the  clothing  of  the  naked,  and  the  carry- 
ing on  of  the  industries  of  the  world.  The  great 
matter  is  usefulness.  Hovv  shall  I  invest  my  capital 
of  truth  and  character  so  as  to  make  them  tell  for  my- 
self, my  fellow-men,  and  God  ? 

Here  again  the  Scriptures  are  our  guide.  They 
tell  us  of  the  kingdom.  This  word  is  indeed  the  key 
of  the  gospel.  The  Master  speaks  over  and  over  of 
this  Kingdom,  the  Kingdom  of  God,  the  Kingdom  of 
Truth,  the  Kingdom  of  Righteousness,  the  Kingdom 
of  He'aven  on  earth.  His  word  is,  "  Seek  ye  first  of 
all  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness  and  all 
the  lower  things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 

It  is  a  critical  point  in  the  life  of  a  young  man  or 
young  woman  when  the  question  is  reached,  What 
trade^'or  profession  shall  I  choose  ?  What  shall  be  my 
life-work  ?  There  is  a  point  in  the  higher  life  of  every 
man  when  he  is  called  upon  to  determine  what  shall 
be  his  nobler  pursuit.  The  true  answer  is  this: 
"  Seek  ye  the  kingdom  of  God."  "His  servants  ye 
are,  to  whom  ye  obey."  No  one  is  free  who  is  not 
the  servant  of  God. 

The  highest  possible  point  of  manhood  was 
reached  in  the  experience  of  Jesus  Christ  when,  put- 
ting the  purple  cup  to  his  lips  under  the  olive  trees  in 
Gethsemane,  he  cried,  "  O  my  Father,  not  my  will 
but  thine  be  done."      When  self  is  surrendered  to  the 


334  WHOM    THE    SON    MAKES   FREE. 

highest  and  best,  when  the  human  will  is  brought  in- 
to line  with  the  divine  will,  when  the  soul  is  en  rapport 
with  all  the  wishes  and  purposes  of  the  Mighty  One, 
then  man  is  free  ;  free  to  do  only  that  which  is  best 
and  noblest ;  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  the  base 
and  unworthy,  unfettered  from  the  law  to  glory  in 
obedience.  For  the  best  definition  of  freedom  is  not 
lawlessness,  but  perfect  obedience  to  perfect  law. 

The  national  symbol  chosen  by  our  fathers  to 
represent  the  principle  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  free- 
dom, for  which  they  jeoparded  their  lives,  their 
fortunes  and  their  sacred  honor,  was  the  eagle. 
Why?  Because  it  has  an  eye  to  gaze  undazzled  at 
the  mid-day  beam.  Because  it  has  a  heart  of  courage 
to  make  its  home  in  the  dizzy  heights  Because  it 
has  a  wing  to  catch  the  breath  of  the  rarest  ether  and 
strong  enough  to  defy  the  fiercest  storm.  The  air  is 
its  home,  its  native  element ;  and  here  on  poised  wing 
it  stands  for  freedom.  A  man  is  never  free  save  in 
his  element.  Freedom  is  conformity  to  the  laws  of 
our  being.  I  am  free  when  law  and  truth  and  right- 
eousness flow  in  the  very  current  of  my  blood.  I  am 
free  when  I  can  say,  "  I  rejoice  to  do  thy  will  ;  I  will 
run  in  the  way  of  thy  commandments."  "  They  which 
wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  mount  up  as  on  eagle's 
wings.  They  shall  run  and  not  be  weary,  they  shall 
walk  and  not  faint."  They  are  free  forever,  joyous 
and  triumphant,  because  their  lives  are  hid  with 
Christ  in  God. 


THE  SALVATION  ARMY. 

"  And  John  answered  him  saying,  Master,  we  saw  one  casting-  out  devils  in  thy 
name,  and  he  foUoweth  not  with  us :  and  we  forbade  him  because  he  fol- 
loweth  not  with  us.  But  Jesus  said.  Forbid  him  not:  for  there  is  no 
man  which  shall  do  a  miracle  in  my  name,  that  can  lightly  speak  evil  of 
me."— Mark  ix.  38,  39. 

The  earthly  life  of  Jesus  was  drawing  rapidly  to  its 
close.  "  I  must  work  while  it  is  day,"  said  he,  "  for 
the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can  work,"  So  much 
remained  to  be  done  !  He  was  now  on  his  last  mis- 
sionary journey.  For  the  multiplying  of  his  influence 
he  endowed  seventy  of  his  followers  with  peculiar 
gifts  of  speech  and  healing,  and  sent  them  out  among 
the  villages  of  Galilee.  It  was  a  notable  excursion. 
In  due  time  the  itinerants  returned  with  a  glowing 
report  of  their  success  :  "  Even  the  devils,"  they  cried, 
"have  been  subject  unto  us  !  " 

But  one  episode  of  that  journey  has  its  melancholy 
aspect.  It  is  here  related  by  John  with  peculiar  zest : 
"  We  saw  one  casting  out  devils  in  thy  name  and  we 
forbade  him,  for  he  followeth  not  with  us."  The 
Lord  deliver  us  from  bigotry— the  bigotry  that  in- 
vented the  rack  and  thumb-screw,  that  has  kindled 
the  fagots  of  a  thousand  human  holocausts,  that  has 
set  rivers  of  blood  a-fiowing,  that  alienates  friends 
and  fills  the  world  with  confusion.  We  are  none  of 
us  wholly  free  from  it,  but  some  of  us  are  lament- 
ably full  of  it.     Hark  to  the  voices  that  cry,  "  The 

(335) 


336  THE    SALVATION    ARMY. 

temple  of  the  Lord  !  the  temple  of  the  Lord  are  we!  " 
Poor  souls — narrow  contracted,  intolerant.  It  was 
the  thought  of  such  ecclesiasticism  as  this  that  led 
Emerson  to  say, 

"  I  like  a  Church,  I  like  a  cowl, 
I  love  a  prophet  of  the  soul  ; 
And  on  my  heart  monastic  aisles 
Fall  like  sweet  strains  and  pensive  smiles  : 
But  not  for  all  his  faith  can  see, 
Would  I  that  cowled  Churchman  be  ! " 

The  ways  of  the  Salvation  Army  are  not  our  ways, 
nor  are  its  thoughts  our  thoughts,  but  for  that  mat- 
ter neither  are  God's  ;  and  this  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  dogmatically  disapprove  and  denounce  them. 
We  are  living  in  a  broad  world  whose  circumference 
is  25,000  miles  ;  there  is  room  enough  for  all  to  gang 
their  ain  gait  without  jostling.  It  is  likely  that  the 
Salvation  Army  has  blundered  on  many  occasions, 
but  in  all  this  world  of  ours  there  is  no  such  blunder 
as  intolerance.  Why  should  we  find  fault  with  those 
who  are  our  brethren  in  the  fellowship  of  great  fun- 
damental truths  and  principles  ?  There  are  devils 
enough  in  the  world  and  friends  of  the  devil  and 
soldiers  of  the  devil,  without  our  assailing  those  who 
are  casting  out  devils  in  Jesus'  name  even  though 
they  "  follow  not  with  us." 

I.  As  to  the  origin  of  the  Salvation  Arffty.  The 
movement  began  in  1865.*  Its  originator  was  the 
Reverend  William  Booth.  God  has  always  the  right 
man  for  the  hour.  The  clock  struck  and  Saul  of 
Tarsus  said,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ? " 


*  This  sermon  was  preached  on  the  30th  Anniversary  of  the 
Organization  of  the  Salvation  Army. 


THE    SALVATION    ARMY.  337 

The  clock  struck  again  and  Peter  the  Hermit  went  to 
and  fro  waving  the  red  cross  banner  and  crying, 
Deus  viilt.  Again  the  hour  struck  and  Luther  nailed 
his  Ninety-five  Theses  to  the  chapel  door.  The 
clock  struck  again  and  John  Wesley  was  born. 
The  clock  struck  once  more  and  William  Booth  ap- 
peared and  began  his  work.  He  had  been  a  minister 
of  the  English  Church  and  was  frozen  out ;  he  had 
joined  the  Wesleyans  only  to  find  that  he  was  unable, 
by  the  approved  methods  of  that  Church,  to"  reach 
the  great  lapsed  multitude.  He  cut  loose  now,  be- 
came an  independent  minister  and  drifted  to  East 
London, — East  London,  where  the  unchurched 
masses  most  do  congregate  ;  the  rendezvous  of  thieves 
and  hoodlums,  the  home  of  the  desolate  and  the 
abandoned. 

Do  you  know  East  London  ?  All  efforts  to  pene- 
trate its  entrenched  sin  had  been  vain.  A  benevolent 
minister  went  down  on  a  certain  occasion  with  his 
"  top  coat  "  over  his  arm  and  began  to  preach.  There 
was  no  difficulty  in  attracting  a  crowd.  "  I'll  hold 
your  coat,  your  Reverence,"  said  one.  "I'll  hold 
your  cane,"  said  another.  And  still  another,  "  I'll 
hold  your  hat."  He  preached  with  all  earnestness 
and  the  spirit  of  exhortation,  arnd  at  the  close  of  his 
discourse  looked  about  for  his  three  servitors.  Then 
his  indignation  burst  forth  :  "  I  came  down  here  at 
considerable  inconvenience  to  do  you  good,"  said  he, 
"and  you  have  stolen  my  hat  and  my  top  coat  and 
my  gold-headed  cane.  I  wash  my  hands  of  you.  I 
give  you  over  to  your  fate.  The  Lord  have  mercy 
on  you."  This  was  the  neighborhood  toward  which 
William  Booth  now  turned  his  attention  and  with 
such  success  that    we   are    beginning  to    think    that 


338  THE    SALVATION    ARMY. 

possibly    he    has    solved    that    long-vexed    problem, 
"  How  to  Win  the  Masses." 

II.  The  name  of  the  Salvation  Army.  Observe,  it 
does  not  profess  to  be  a  church.  We  believe  in  the 
Church  as  a  divine  institution.  Ecclesia  is  a  great 
word  and  it  accurately  characterizes  the  goodly  fel- 
lowship— those  who  are  "  called  out"  from  the  world 
to  serve  God.  It  is  to  be  lamented,  not  that  the  Sal- 
vation Army  does  not  call  itself  a  church,  but  that  it 
has  not  more  distinctly  avowed  its  friendly  attitude 
toward  the  universal  Church  of  Christ.  As  it  cele- 
brates no  sacraments,  it  would  appear  reasonable  that 
it  should  encourage  all  its  converts  to  sit  down  in  the 
fellowship  of  those  who  in  the  various  churches  keep 
the  last  injunction  of  their  Lord,  "  Do  this  in  remem- 
brance of  me." 

But  why  an  "army"?  Because  there's  war.  Did 
not  Christ  come  into  the  world,  you  say,  to  reign  as 
Shiloh,  Prince  of  Peace  ?  Did  not  the  angels  sing 
his  welcome,  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest ;  peace  on 
earth  toward  men  of  good  will  "  ?  Aye.  But  he  also 
said,  "  I  am  come  not  to  send  peace  on  the  earth,  but 
a  sword."  His  purpose  is  indeed  pacific  toward  the 
children  of  men  ;  but  as  to  the  powers  of  darkness 
his  gospel  means  war  to  the  blade,  war  to  the  hilt, 
war  to  the  death,  war  without  quarter,  war  without 
compromise,  a  continuous  assault  upon  the  strong- 
holds of  iniquity,  an  unremitting  effort  to  destroy  the 
works  of  the  devil.  No  peace,  but  incessant  war 
until  the  gates  of  heaven  shall  open  and  the  last  rein- 
forcements shall  come  forth — One  riding  in  front  in 
garments  dipped  in  blood,  having  upon  his  vesture 
and  thigh  a  name  written,  the  Lion  of  the  Tribe  of 
Judah  ;  and  following  after  him  a  great  multitude  on 


THE    SALVATION    ARMY.  339 

white  horses  and  robed  in  white,  their  garments 
washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Then  the 
great  dragon  and  his  hosts  and  the  clash  of  armies 
in  mid-heaven.  Then  the  gaping  pit  and  the 
smoke  of  torment  ascending  up  and  the  cry, 
Babylon  is  fallen!  And  then  the  throne  set  above  all 
thrones  and  Jesus  coming  to  reign  where'er  the  sun 
doth  his  successive  journeys  run.  No  peace  until 
then,  and  afterwards  peace  forever.  Meanwhile,  the 
churches  all  have  need  of  the  rigid  and  unquestion- 
ing obedience  of  military  service.  To  "join  the 
Church"  is  indeed  enlistment,  and  there  is  no  dis- 
charge in  this  war.  He  is  the  blessed  one  who  can 
say  like  Paul  at  the  outer  verge  of  life,  "  I  have  fought 
a  good  fight  ;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 
crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord  the  righteous 
judge  shall  give  me  at  that  day." 

in.  As  to  the  principles  of  the  Salvation  Army.  We 
are  not  likely  to  agree  with  General  Booth  and  his 
followers  in  all  particulars  of  doctrine,  but  they  are 
right  with  respect  to  the  great  granite  truths.  It  is 
doubtful  if  they  would  endorse  all  the  five  points  of 
Calvinism  ;  but  they  have  five  doctrinal  tenets  which 
are  beyond  all  controversy,  as  follows  : 

(i)  Sin.  They  believe  in  sin.  How  could  it  be 
otherwise  ?  The  parish  of  the  Salvation  Army  is  the 
slums  ;  sin  there  exists  in  its  most  flagrant  and  ab- 
horrent form  ;  sin  in  rags  and  poverty,  sin  hungry 
and  cadaverous,  sin  under  the  ban  of  society,  sin 
with  the  prison  mold  upon  it,  the  sin  of  the  prodigal 
son   in  the  far  country  feeding  swine,  sin  as  Milton 

painted  it, 

"  Black  it  stood  as  night, 

Fierce  as  ten  furies,  terrible  as  hell, 

And  shook  a  dreadful  dart." 


340  THE    SALVATION    ARMY, 

(2)  Hell.  There  is  no  modification  of  the  nomen- 
clature of  retribution.  Hell,  the  word  that  character- 
izes the  penalty  of  sin,  the  fire  unquenchable,  the  worm 
that  gnaws  and  gnaws  and  gnaws  and  never  dies,  the 
outer  darkness  of  lonely  reproach  and  divine  aban- 
donment, shame,  remorse  for  ever  and  ever. 

(3)  Revelation.  The  Salvation  Army  believes  in 
the  Bible.  It  does  not  devote  itself  to  the  study  of 
the  outward  form  of  Scripture.  It  has  nothing  to  say 
with  respect  to  the  Higher  Criticism.  It  cares  noth- 
ing about  inductive  and  deductive  methods.  It  does 
not  worry  itself  as  to  the  mode  of  inspiration.  The 
sin-stricken  multitude  who  form  the  constituency  of 
the  Salvation  Army  are  concerned  about  such  great 
questions  as,  "What  shall  we  do  to  be  saved?"  and 
"How  shall  God  be  just  and  yet  the  justifier  of  the 
ungodly? "  and  that  tremendous  problem,  "  What  shall 
it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his 
own  soul  ;  or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for 
his  soul?"  And  they  say,  "  Here  is  a  Book  which 
professes  an  answer  to  those  heart-rending  questions. 
Let  us  open  it  and  see."  The  beggar  who  stands  in 
front  of  Delmonico's  does  not  devote  his  attention  to 
the  urns  of  fragrant  bloom  beside  the  doorway  or  to 
the  gorgeous  livery  of  the  men  in  waiting  there  ;  his 
eyes  are  fixed  upon  the  tables  within,  and  what  he 
wants  is  food.  So  is  it  with  the  great  multitude  who 
pass  by  our  church  doors  and  who  constitute  the  par- 
ish of  the  Salvation  Army  ;  deep  down  in  their  hearts 
they  are  asking  the  way  of  everlasting  life.  The 
Bible  is  nothing  to  them  except  as  it  answers  this 
need. 

"  Within  this  sacred  Volume  lies 
The  mystery  of  mysteries  ; 


THE    SALVATION    ARMY.  34I 

Happiest  they  of  human  race 
To  whom  the  Lord  hath  given  grace 
To  read,  to  think,  to  fear,  to  pray, 
To  lift  the  latch  and  force  the  way." 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  truths  there  are  two 
others  which  are  emblematically  written  upon  the 
banners  of  this  organization — red  banners  bearing 
the  legend,  Fire  and  Blood. 

(4)  Blood  :  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  who  gave 
himself  for  us.  The  veterans  of  the  armies  of  the 
Civil  War  have  been  marching  through  the  streets. 
They  are  proud  of  their  membership  in  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic.  God  bless  the  Grand  Army. 
But  they  will  bear  me  witness  that  it  was  not  their 
imposing  parades,  not  their  martial  music,  not  their 
gorgeous  uniforms,  not  their  waving  banners  that 
saved  the  country.  It  was  blood  that  saved  the  coun- 
try ; — the  blood  of  Colonel  Ellsworth,  the  blood  of  the 
rank  and  file,  the  blood  of  Abraham  Lincoln  ;  an  aw- 
ful trail  of  blood  from  the  streets  of  Baltimore  west- 
ward to  the  Mississippi,  southward  staining  the  waters 
of  that  great  flood  to  its  mouth,  and  north  and  east 
again  to  the  gates  of  Richmond.  I  say  nothing 
against  the  historic  creeds  and  ethical  codes  of  the 
universal  Church  when  I  declare  that  God's  power 
unto  salvation  abides  not  in  them.  We  are  saved  by 
our  "grip  on  the  blood";  by  a  vital  faith  in  the 
atoning  power  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  that  cleanseth 
from  all  sin. 

(5)  Fire  :  a  reference  to  the  baptism  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  fire  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  On  that 
memorable  occasion  the  Spirit  rested  upon  the  fore- 
heads of  the  disciples  in  lambent  flame.  The  expres- 
sion is  significant,  "Tongues  of  fire.'     The  men  and 


342  THE    SALVATION    ARMY. 

women  of  the  Salvation  Army  are  all  instructed  that 
they  are  to  be  witnesses  for  Christ.  The  enthusiasm 
of  their  conversion  must  be  made  to  express  itself 
in  open  avowal.  The  "testimonies"  of  these  con- 
verts is  often  of  the  rudest  sort.  I  have  heard  them 
in  the  slums  of  our  own  cities,  in  our  frontier  towns, 
in  an  open  square  in  Ayrshire.  I  followed  the  drums 
one  night  to  Seven  Dials  in  London  and  there  heard 
such  testimonies  to  God's  goodness — in  expressions 
wholly  innocent  of  grammar  and  rhetoric — by  men 
and  women  whose  faces  were  scarred  with  the  memo- 
rials of  vice — such  testimonies  as  might  make  an 
angel  weep  for  joy. 

IV.  As  to  the  methods  of  the  Salvation  Army.  These 
are  all  briefly  comprehended  in  the  aphorism,  "  Any- 
thing to  win  the  souls  of  men." 

(i)  "  Go  out  after  the  people."  Go  out  into  the 
streets,  into  the  purlieus,  up  into  the  attics,  down  into 
the  basement,  into  the  uttermost  slums ;  anywhere  to 
get  your  audience.  "  First  catch  your  hare."  Go 
out  with  drums  and  tambourines  and  popular  airs. 
Go  out  like  the  Pied  Piper  of  Hamelin : 

"  From  street  to  street  he  piped  advancing, 
And  step  by  step  they  followed  dancing." 

Then  to  the  barracks!  Before  we  criticise,  let  us 
seriously  inquire  if  this  plan  is  not  wisely  adapted  to 
the  circumstances  of  the  case.  Your  fishermen  on  the 
coast  of  Maine  when  they  go  out  after  mackerel  take 
with  them  a  bucket  of  toll-bait — minced  menhaden  ; 
on  reaching  the  deep  water  they  scatter  the  toll-bait 
generously  on  either  side  of  the  boat ;  and  lo,  the  fish 
come  following  after.  The  drum  and  fife  of  the  Sal- 
vation Army  are  their  toll-bait,  and   the  wisdom  of 


THE    SALVATION    ARMY.  343 

this  method  is  demonstrated  by  the  success  which  has 
attended  it. 

(2)  "  Get  the  attention  of  the  people  and  hold  it." 
On  reaching  the  barracks  there  is  no  moment  of  dul- 
ness.  The  drum  and  the  volley  and  the  knee  drill 
and  the  popular  air  keep  the  audience  constantly  on 
the  qui  vive.  Prayers  and  testimonies  are  brief.  At- 
tention is  not  suffered  to  flag  for  a  instant.  Sidney 
Smith  said,  "A  sparrow  fluttering  in  the  church  is  an 
antagonist  whom  the  profcundest  theologian  in  Eu- 
rope cannot  master."  We  may  not  be  able  to  use  the 
methods  of  the  Salvation  Army  in  holding  the  atten- 
tion of  our  people  ;  but  why  should  we  ?  At  the  re- 
cent intercollegiate  sports  I  observed  that  the  sprint- 
ing matches  were  announced  by  the  firing  of  a  gun, 
which  turned  every  eye  in  the  great  assemblage  to- 
ward the  athletes.  Everything  in  its  place.  The 
firing  of  a  gun  for  a  similar  purpose  would  be  mal- 
apropos in  this  company.  Our  friends  of  the  Salva- 
tion Army  are  not  seeking  to  win  the  people  who  are 
in  habitual  attendance  at  Fifth  Avenue  churches. 
They  adapt  their  methods  to  their  parish. 

(3)  ''Clinch  the  impression  here  and  now."  The 
man  who  falls  into  the  clutches  of  the  Salvation  Army 
is  not  allowed  to  escape  until  all  resources  are  ex- 
hausted in  bringing  him  to  final  and  decisive  accept* 
ance  of  Christ.  He  is  personally  importuned.  He 
is  persuaded  to  take  his  place  among  the  "  seekers  " 
in  the  foremost  seats,  and  when  under  conviction  he 
IS  exhorted  to  persist  until  he  is  sensible  his  sins  are 
forgiven.  Then  the  testimony  ;  he  rises  and  confesses 
the  goodness  of  God,  and  the  drums  beat  and  the 
banners  wave  and  the  barracks  are  filled  with  halle- 
lujahs.    This,  however,  is  only  the  beginning.     He  is 


344  THE    SALVATION    ARMY. 

now  in  the  hands  of  zealous  and  prayerful  friends. 
By  night  and  day  they  accompany  him  and  hold  him. 
They  put  on  him  the  uniform  of  the  Army,  so  that 
wherever  he  goes,  it  is  as  if  his  forehead  bore  the 
name  of  his  new  Master. 

A  few  years  ago,  on  a  visit  to  the  home  of  my 
boyhood,  I  was  conversing  with  a  few  familiar  friends, 
when  a  man  wearing  the  uniform  drew  near.  "  You 
do  not  know  me?"  he  said;  ''I  am  Ben  Jones."  I 
knew  him  then,  for  we  had  been  at  the  old  red  school- 
house  together.  As  the  years  passed  on  I  had  heard 
of  his  wild  life.  I  had  seen  his  name  upon  the  dead 
walls  as  a  clown  in  a  travelling  show.  He  continued, 
"  I  understand  you  do  not  approve  the  methods  of 
the  Salvation  Army.  Let  me  tell  you  about  myself. 
A  year  ago  a  Salvation  lass  invited  me  to  the  bar- 
racks, and  I  went.  For  more  than  six  months  I  had 
not  slept  in  a  bed,  but  in  the  stalls  with  the  horses  or 
anywhere,  I  could  scarcely  remember  knowing  a 
sober  day  or  hour.  But  at  the  barracks  they  persuad- 
ed me  to  come  forward  and  they  prayed  over  me  ; 
and  I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  forgave  my  sins  that 
night ;  and  I  have  worn  this  uniform  ever  since,  and 
the  lads  and  lasses  of  the  Salvation  Army  have  stood 
by  me  ;  and  by  God's  grace  I  mean  to  be  faithful  in 
serving  the  Lord  who  has  redeemed  me  until  you  and 
I  shall  stand  together  in  the  great  multitude  around 
His  throne."  And  what  could  I  say  to  that  ?  All  my 
prejudices  were  dissipated  in  a  moment.  All  my  ob- 
jections fell  flat  in  the  presence  of  a  man  who  had 
felt  the  power  of  God. 

There  is  a  lesson  here  for  the  people  of  the  churches. 
Our  opposition  to  the  methods  of  the  Salvation  Army 
has  practically  disappeared.     We  are  all   now  with 


THE    SALVATION    ARMY.  345 

one  accord  approving  them  ;  indeed  I  am  not  sure 
that  our  approval  is  not  too  generous.  We  are  glad 
to  have  the  Salvation  Army  going  down  into  the  slums 
after  the  lapsed  masses.  Let  us  be  assured,  however, 
that  we  cannot  farm  out  our  own  responsibility  in 
this  way.  The  duty  of  reaching  the  unchurched  mul- 
titudes still  rests  upon  the  churches.  Let  it  no  longer 
be  said  as  a  reproach  against  us  that  we  die  of  re- 
spectability. Our  doors  must  be  open  to  the  stran- 
gers. The  hospitality  of  our  sanctuaries  must  be  ex- 
tended to  the  man  in  mean  apparel  ;  and  more  than 
that,  we  must  heed  the  injunction  as  addressed  not 
to  the  Salvation  Army  only  but  to  us  :  "  Go  out  into 
the  highways  and  hedges  and  constrain  them  to  come 
in."  It  is  urged  against  these  zealous  people  that 
they  create  an  undue  excitement,  not  only  in  their 
own  places  of  service,  but  in  the  open  streets.  In 
like  manner  it  was  said  of  Paul  and  his  friends  when 
they  came  to  Thessalonica,  "These  that  turned  the 
world  upside  down  are  come  hither  also."  O  that 
the  time  were  hastened  when  that  reproach  should  be 
brought  against  all  the  churches  of  Christ,  that  they 
turn  the  world  upside  down.  For,  alas!  this  is  a 
topsy-turvey  world  :  sin  has  turned  it  wrong  side  up, 
and  to  turn  it  upside  down  is  indeed  to  turn  it  right 
side  up. 

Finally,  here  is  a  lesson  for  the  impenitent  soul. 
Why  all  this  commotion  ?  Why  this  building  of 
churches  and  preaching  of  the  gospel?  Is  it  much 
ado  about  nothing  ?  You  have  observed  how  easily 
a  crowd  can  be  gathered  upon  any  of  our  thorough- 
fares. If  a  man  has  fallen  into  an  excavation,  they 
gather  from  everywhere  ;  scores  of  interested  and  ex- 
cited people  enquiring  for  the  doctors,  for  the  ambu- 


346  THE    SALVATION    ARMY. 

lances.  You  yourself  draw  near  and  crowd  toward 
the  centre  to  find  what  has  happened,  and  are  as  eager 
as  anybody  to  render  help.  The  Salvation  Army  is 
such  a  crowd  ;  somebody  has  fallen  into  a  pit,  they 
have  gathered  to  help  him.  What  eagerness!  O  what 
earnestness!  But  how  does  this  concern  you?  You 
are  the  man  in  the  pit! 

All  are  in  earnest  except  the  sinner  himself,  who 
should  indeed  be  most  concerned.  God  is  in  earnest. 
God's  only  begotten  Son  is  in  dead  earnest,  insomuch 
as  he  has  made  bare  his  arm  on  Calvary  for  the  de- 
liverance of  the  lost.  Mothers  are  praying,  preachers 
exhorting,  armies  bearing  the  red-cross  banner  are 
marching  to  and  fro.  All  are  in  earnest ;  all  but  you, 
good  friend,  and  you  are  most  concerned.  Suppose 
you  think  about  it. 


THE  COVEMANTERS. 

"  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life."— Rev.  ii.  lo. 

It  will  serve  our  convenience  in  a  brief  survey  of 
the  history  of  the  Covenanters  of  Scotland  to  remem- 
ber a  trio  of  important  dates.  The  first  is  1517  when, 
as  everybody  knows,  Luther  nailed  up  his  ninety-five 
theses  on  the  chapel  door  at  Wittemberg  and  preached 
his  notable  sermon  on  Justification — the  doctrine  of 
a  standing  or  a  falling  church — taking  for  his  text, 
"The  just  shall  live  by  faith."  At  this  time  Patrick 
Hamilton,  a  youth  of  extraordinary  endowments, 
was  being  educated  in  Scotland  for  the  Church,  The 
writings  of  Luther  and  other  continental  reformers 
fell  into  his  hands  and  he  determined  to  look  farther 
into  the  great  doctrines  which  lie  at  the  foundation 
of  personal  and  ecclesiastical  freedom.  He  visited 
the  continent  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  Luther 
and  Melancthon.  On  returning  to  Scotland  he  began 
to  preach,  but  the  fulminations  of  Rome  followed  him. 
He  was  arrested,  tried  and  summarily  sentenced  to 
die  the  next  day.  He  met  his  doom  bravely,  saying, 
"Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit."  This  marks  the 
dawn  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland.  An  ambassador 
of  the  English  throne,  in  reporting  the  defections  of 
the  Scottish  people,  afterwards  said  "  The  smoke 
of  Patrick  Hamilton  hath  infected  the  land." 

(347) 


34^  THE    COVENANTERS. 

The  second  of  the  important  dates  is  is^'j.  Tiiis 
was  a  year  of  signs  and  wonders.  A  comet  was 
thought  to  be  a  fiery  dragon  vomiting  flames,  whales 
of  uncommon  size  were  cast  upon  the  shore,  and 
there  were  other  tokens  of  approaching  calamity. 
Mary  of  Scotland  was  at  this  time  in  France  plotting 
with  her  mother  the  Queen  Dowager  for  the  suprem- 
acy of  Rome.  A  conference  was  held  at  Edinburgh 
among  the  friends  of  the  reformed  doctrine  to  devise 
plans  for  averting  the  threatened  papistical  calamities. 
The  Earl  of  Argyle  was  there,  James  Douglas  and 
John  Erskine  ;  in  this  conference  was  drawn  up  the 
first  of  the  Solemn  Leagues  and  Covenants  in  which 
the  Protestants  of  Scotland  pledged  themselves  to 
stand  by  one  another  for  better,  for  worse,  in  defence 
of  the  freedom  of  the  divine  Word.  This  Covenant 
formed  the  basis  of  all  similar  instruments  which 
were  afterwards  drawn  up  ;  it  was  the  Magna  Charta 
of  Scottish  freedom.  It  gave  the  signal  for  the  be- 
ginning of  a  long  struggle  marked  for  many  years 
by  fire  and  blood,  but  destined  to  end  in  glorious 
victory  ; 

"  For  freedom's  battle  once  begun, 
Bequeathed  from  bleeding  sire  to  son, 
Though  baffled  oft,  is  ever  won." 

The  third  of  the  important  dates  is  1S72.  This  is 
universally  known  as  the  year  of  the  massacre  of  St. 
Bartholomew's.  Let  it  also  be  remembered  as  the 
year  when  John  Knox  entered  into  his  rest.  He  had 
long  before,  on  graduation  from  the  University  at 
Glasgow,  embraced  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation. 
The  smoke  of  Patrick  Hamilton  had  infected  him. 
He  was  deposed  from  his  professorship  in  the  uni- 
versity by  Rome,   but  continued  to  preach  the  gospel 


THE    COVENANTERS.  349 

of  grace.     He  was  sentenced  to  exile  and  the  galleys  ; 
for   eighteen  weary  months   he  was  chained  to    the 
oars  in    France  ;  then  he  returned  and,  with  his  life 
in  his  hands,   resumed  the    preaching  of  the    great 
doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith.     In    vain  did  his 
former  friends  endeavor  to  turn  him  aside  from  the 
path  of  duty  ;  he   was   offered  a  bishopric   and    de- 
clined  it.     There  is  no  more   heroic  figure  in  history 
than  that  of  John  Knox  going  up   to  Holyrood  with 
his   Genevan  cloak  over  his  shoulders   and  his  Bible 
under   his   arm,   to  remonstrate  with  his  Oueen  for 
usurping  an  unjust  authority.     When  obliged  to  give 
up  for  a  time   the  functions  of  his  ministry,  he  took 
occasion    to  visit  Geneva    where  he   conferred  with 
John  Calvin  ;  then  back  again  to  Edinburgh  and  the 
preaching  of  Christ.    It  was  now  1572.    The  news  of  the 
massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  was  brought  to  Edin- 
burgh, and  Knox  for  the  last  time  entered  his  pulpit 
to  thunder  forth    his  indignation  against  the  woman 
drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  saints  and  with  the  blood 
of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus.     He  climbed  the  stairs  of  his 
home — the  home  where  every    tourist  pauses  to-day 
to  read    the  legend,  "  Lufe  God  above  all  and  your 
neighbor  as  yourself  " — and  presently,  having  fought 
the  good  fight  and  finished  his  course,  fell  on  sleep. 
It  was  a  splendid  tribute  that  was  paid  to  him  by  the 
regent  who,  standing  above    his  open    grave,    said  : 
"  Here   lies  one  who  never  feared  the  face  of  man." 
Thus  far  the  opposition    to  ecclesiastical  freedom 
in    Scotland  had    come   from  Rome.     The  issue  was 
now  to  be  changed  and  Scotland's  enemy  was  hence- 
forth  to  be    the  English  Church.     The  conflict  took 
its  rise  in  the  introduction  of  a  new  "  Book  of  Canons  " 
prepared  by  Charles    I.  and  Archbishop  Laud.     The 


350  THE    COVENANTERS. 

King  ordered  that  this  book  should  be  used  in  the 
Scottish  Kirk  ;  by  this  the  Kirk  of  Scotland  would 
obviously  be  placed  under  the  domination  of  a 
foreign  hierarchy.  It  involved  a  vast  stretch  of  the 
royal  prerogative  and  was  offensive  to  all.  The 
prayer-book  of  Archbishop  Laud  was  to  supersede 
the  Genevan  liturgy  which  had  been  introduced  by 
Knox.  In  this  new  formulary  there  was  a  distinct 
recognition  of  baptismal  regeneration  and  there 
were  also  prayers  for  the  dead.  It  was  indeed  sub- 
stantially the  same  as  the  Roman  Catholic  Missal. 
The  Archbishop  had  determined,  as  he  said,  "  to  make 
the  stubborn  Kirk  of  Scotland  stoop";  but  he 
reckoned  without  his  host.  He  did  not  know  the 
mettle  of  the  Scottish  people.  On  the  day  appointed 
for  the  introduction  of  this  liturgy,  the  Dean  of  St. 
Giles  in  Edinburgh  had  begun  to  readtheservice  when 
a  strange  thing  happened.  Down  below  sat  Jenny 
Geddes,  her  soul  growing  more  and  more  indignant 
by  reason  of  this  papistical  mummery,  until  she 
suddenly  arose  and,  throwing  her  stool  at  the  officiat- 
ing clergyman,  cried  "  Dost  thou  say  mass  at  my 
lug?"  In  the  confusion  that  followed  the  Dean 
gathered  his  skirts  and  vanished.  This  was  the  be- 
ginning of  a  long  campaign  against  prelacy  and  the 
prayer-book.  No  less  than  sixty-eight  petitions  were 
addressed  to  the  throne  representing  that  the  Church 
of  Scotland  was  by  definite  act  of  Parliament  a  free 
and  independent  church.  The  King  refused  to 
listen  ;  further  protests  were  forbidden  ;  the  right  of 
public  assemblage  was  denied.  A  crisis  was  fast 
approaching. 

At   this  point  it  will  serve  ns    to    remember   another 
trio    of    important  dates.      The  first  of  these  is    1638. 


THE   COVENANTERS.  35  I 

This  was  the  year  of  the  renewal  of  the  Solemn 
League  and  Covenant.  It  occurred  in  Grayfriars  Kirk, 
where  nobility  and  commons,  ministers  and  laymen, 
with  uplifted  hands  pledged  fealty  to  one  another  in 
support  of  its  solemn  principles.  The  people  had 
come  from  all  quarters  between  the  Tay  and  Tweed. 
When  the  leaders  in  Grayfriars  had  affixed  their 
signatures,  the  parchment  was  brought  out  in  the 
kirk-yard  and  laid  upon  a  grave-stone  ;  then  the 
multitudes  came,  and,  with  a  solemn  apprehension  of 
all  that  it  m.ight  involve,  signed, — some  of  them  with 
their  own  blood  and  others  adding,  "until  death." 
This  was  followed  by  a  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  in  Glasgow  at  which  the  Book  of  Canons  was 
condemned  and  bishops  were  declared  to  have  no 
authority.  The  king's  ambassador  in  vain  tried  to 
dissolve  the  assemblage  under  pain  of  treason.  The 
hour  of  adjournment  having  been  reached,  the  last 
words  were  spoken  :  "We  have  now  cast  down  the 
wall  of  Jericho.  Let  him  who  rebuilds  them  beware 
of  the  curse  of  Hiel  the  Bethelite."  The  King  on 
hearing  of  these  proceedings  was  beside  himself  with 
anger.  He  prepared  an  army  and  set  out  for  Scot- 
land. The  flaming  cross  was  kindled  on  the  hill  tops 
to  arou&e  the  people.  The  Covenanters  soon  enlisted 
three  thousand  men  under  the  command  of  George 
Leslie,  "a  little  old  crooked  man,"  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  under  Gustavus  Adolphus  in  the 
Thirty  Years'  War.  They  raised  the  bonny  blue  flag 
bearing  the  legend  :  "  For  Christ's  Crown  and. 
Covenant."  The  two  armies  met  at  Dunse-law.  The 
King  confronted  a  camp  all  resonant  with  psalmody; 
he  surveyed  the  Covenanters  as  they  knelt  in  prayer; 
saw  the  legend  upon  their  blue  banner  ;  marked  the 


352  THE    COVENANTERS. 

valor  flaming  in  their  eyes;  and  concluded  that  discre- 
tion was  the  better  part  of  valor.  In  the  conference 
that  followed,  he  promised  a  free  parliament  and  the 
full  rights  of  the  Scottish  Kirk, — a  promise  which,  as 
subsequent  events  showed,  he  fully  intended  to  break. 
But  fortunately  at  this  time  he  found  himself  involved 
in  other  affairs  which  left  him  no  time  to  waste  upon 
these  covenanting  cattle  of  moss  and  moor. 

It  was  now  164Q.  Cromwell  arose  ;  the  man  from 
the  fens  of  England  with  his  army  of  Roundheads. 
The  Civil  War  was  on.  King  and  Parliament  were 
clinched  for  a  death-struggle.  Meanwhile  for  eleven 
blessed  years  the  Scottish  people  had  peace. 

The  last  of  these  important  dates  is  iddo,  known 
to  all  as  the  year  of  the  Restoration.  Charles  II. 
came  to  the  throne  under  a  deliberate  pledge  to 
support  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant  ;  but  what 
cared  he  for  oaths  or  covenants.  The  people  of  Scot- 
land rejoiced  over  his  accession  and  sent  James 
Sharpeas  their  ambassador  to  congratulate  him;  this 
man  turned  traitor  and  was  made  president  of  the 
Court  of  High  Commission, — a  star  chamber  of  which 
it  has  been  written  "No  man  ever  brought  before  it, 
was  known  to  escape  condemnation."  It  is  needless 
to  dwell  upon  the  persecutions  that  followed.  The 
brave  defenders  of  the  League  and  Covenant  were 
exposed  to  imprisonment,  torture  and  banishment. 
Women  were  publicly  whipped  through  the  streets ; 
ministers  were  branded  on  the  faces,  sold  into  slavery 
or  burned  at  Edinburgh  Cross.  The  churches  were 
empty  ;  the  jails  were  full. 

At  this  time  four  memorable  acts  were  passed  in 
Parliament,  aimed  at  the  complete  overthrow  of  the 
Scottish  Kirk      The  ^rst  of  these  was  known  as  the 


THE    COVENANTERS.  353 

"Act  Rescissorj'^  "  by  which  the  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant  was  disannulled  and  all  laws  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  rights  of  worship  were  swept  away. 
The  second  is  known  as  the  "  Drunkard's  Act,"  by 
which  four  bishops  were  ordained  to  take  control  of 
the  Scottish  kirk,  and  all  ministers,  except  such  as  sub- 
mitted to  their  power,  were  prohibited  from  discharg- 
ing the  functions  of  their  office.  Those  who  did  not 
submit  to  prelatical  order  were  banished.  In 
pursuance  of  this  procedure  two  hundred  ministers 
took  solemn  leave  of  their  parishes  and  a  little  later 
four  hundred  more  were  ejected  for  non-conformity. 
The  third  oi  the  parliamentary  acts  was  known  as  the 
"  Drag  Net,"  which  was  intended  to  prevent  con- 
venticles ;  that  is,  public  services  held  elsewhere  than 
in  sanctuaries.  No  minister  was  permitted  to  preach 
or  pray  except  in  his  own  family.  A  reward  of  thirty 
pounds  was  offered  for  the  arrest  of  ministers  violat- 
ing this  ordinance  ;  and  immunity  was  promised  in 
case  a  minister  was  slain  while  resisting  it.  The 
penalty  of  obduracy  was  death  and  confiscation.  All 
must  attend  upon  the  ministration  of  the  curates. 
The  fourth  was  the  "  Mile  Act,"  by  which  it  was 
ordered  that  ministers  must  remove  to  a  distance  of 
at  least  twenty  miles  from  their  parishes  within  a 
time  limit  of  twenty  days. 

In  spite  of  these  repressive  measures  and  of  the 
sufferings,  confiscations  and  deaths  that  ensued,  the 
conventicles  went  on.  The  people  met  in  the  valleys 
and  in  the  glens  of  the  mountains  ;  around  the  rude 
pulpit  were  gathered  the  nobility  and  peasantry,  with 
shepherds  from  the  Lammermoors  in  their  gray- 
checked  plaids  ;  the  horses  were  picketed  in  the  rear 
so  that  if  worship  should  be  interrupted,  the  women 


354  THE    COVENANTERS. 

might  speedily  escape  ;  in  front  of  the  congregation 
the  arms  were  stacked.  Here  the  God-fearing  people 
of  Scotland,  during  this  lamentable  season  of  perse- 
cution, whispered  their  prayers  and  sang  their  praises 
with  muffled  voices. 

"  Their  preachers  silenced  and  deposed. 
The  house  of  prayer  against  them  closed, 
They  on  the  mountain  heath  reposed: 
But  though  in  great  perplexity, 

"  Their  harps  were  not  on  willows  hung, 
But  still  in  tune  and  ready  strung. 
Till  mountain  echoes  round  them  rung 
To  songs  of  joyful  melody. 

"  Though  from  their  friends  and  home  exiled, 
Lone  wanderers  in  the  desert  wild. 
The  wilderness  around  them  smiled; 

For  Heaven  approved  their  constancy." 

Then  came  Claverhouse,  "bloody  Claverhouse  " 
— a  name  forever  detestable  and  accursed.  He  led 
his  troops  over  all  the  West,  harrying  and  burning 
and  torturing  and  slaying.  He  rode  down  conven- 
ticles until  the  fetlocks  of  his  horses  were  red.  He 
waylaid  the  peasants  at  their  innocent  toil  and  left 
them  lifeless  on  the  moor.  Bloody  Claverhouse  !  A 
name  to  frighten  Scottish  children  with  to  this  day. 
The  name  of  the  wicked  shall  rot. 

The  struggle  reached  its  consummation  in  the 
battle  of  Bothwell  Brig.  Unfortunately  the  Coven- 
anters had  wasted  precious  time  in  foolish  dissensions, 
and  they  had  not  two  charges  of  ammunition  apiece. 
The  battle  was  short  and  sharp.  The  Scotch  were 
cut  down  like  wheat  before  the  sickle;  the  cry  was, 
"  Kill  !  kill  !  no  quarter  !  "  Twelve  hundred  prison- 
ers were  taken;  some   were  tortured,   not  accepting 


THE    COVENANTERS.  355 

deliverance ;  some  were  hanged  and  their  bodies 
allowed  to  rot  on  the  gibbet  in  chains.  The 
captives  were  marched  to  Edinburgh  and  penned 
in  a  corner  of  Grayfriars  kirk-yard  in  sight  of  the 
very  grave-stone  on  which,  twenty  years  before,  the 
eldest  of  them  had  signed  the  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant.  Here  for  five  weary  months  they  were 
confined  with  no  couch  but  the  earth  and  no  cover- 
let but  the  sky;  a  few  of  them  recanted,  many  of 
them  died,  and  the  remnant,  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  in  all,  were  transported  to  the  West  Indies  to 
be  sold  into  slavery.  But  God  in  mercy  aroused  the 
tempest  and  the  ship  that  carried  them  was  wrecked; 
the  captain  refused  to  allow  the  hatches  to  be  opened 
and  all  but  fifty  went  down  in  the  sea. 

The  "killing-time"  lasted  for  twenty-eight  years, 
during  which  Defoe  says  that  no  less  than  eighteen 
thousand  of  the  bravest  of  the  Scottish  people  died 
for  the  faith.  The  supporters  of  the  Solemn  League 
and  Covenant  came  to  be  known  as  "Wanderers." 
They  hid  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth.  If  they 
were  captured,  it  was  to  suffer  the  boot  and  thumb- 
kins  and  shameful  death.  To  entertain  them  was  a 
capital  crime.  Brother  was  required  to  deliver  up 
brother  to  death;  fathers  were  banished  for  shelter- 
ing their  sons.  Among  the  bravest  of  those  who 
suffered  during  this  lamentable  time  was  Richard 
Cameron,  whose  crime  was  refusing  to  say,  "  God 
save  the  king."  His  answer  was,  "How  can  I  say 
God  save  the  king,  without  being  partaker  of  his 
evil  deeds?"  He  was  publicly  excommunicated  and 
hunted  like  a  partridge  among  the  hills;  a  price  was 
put  upon  his  head.  He  went  to  and  fro  holding  field 
preachings  and  praying  God  to  spare  his  life  that  he 


356  ,  THE    COVENANTERS. 

might  preach  the  glorious  gospel  to  the  poor  people 
among  the  glens.  At  length  he  was  surprised  while 
leading  a  conventicle;  thrice  he  made  his  famous 
prayer,  "  Lord,  spare  the  green  and  take  the  ripe  !  " 
He  was  slain  and  his  head  and  hands  were  cut  off. 
These  ghastly  tokens  were  carried  to  his  aged  father. 
Being  asked  "Dost  thou  know  to  whom  these  belong?" 
the  old  man  answered,  "  To  my  son";  then  taking  them 
and  kissing  them,  "  To  my  own  dear  son.  It  is  God's 
will.  He  hath  made  goodness  and  mercy  follow  us 
all  our  days." 

There  is  nothing  to  be  gained  by  prolonging  the 
lamentable  story.  It  was  brought  to  a  close  at  length 
by  the  coming  of  William  of  Orange.  He  came  from 
the  east,  from  the  Hollow  Land,  where  a  brave  people 
had  beaten  back  the  sea  and  the  Spanish  Fury — the 
only  land  where  at  this  period  the  conflict  of  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  freedom  had  been  fought  to  a  finish 
— the  only  land  on  earth  where  men  were  free  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own 
consciences.  He  came  to  cut  off  the  House  of  Stuart. 
Now  conditions  were  reversed;  the  prelates  were 
drummed  out  of  the  reformed  parishes,  the  psalms 
were  revived  in  worship,  and  from  the  coming  of 
William  of  Orange  until  this  day  the  Scottish  people 
have  dwelt  in  peace,  every  man  under  his  own  vine 
and  fig  tree. 

But  was  it  not  a  small  matter,  you  say,  to  fight  so 
long  and  sturdily  over  a  mere  trifle  ?  Was  it  not  a 
matter  of  slight  importance  whether  Knox's  litany  or 
Laud's  prayer-book  should  be  used  in  the  Scottish 
Kirk?  It  was  indeed,  says  the  historian  Hume,  "  an 
inoffensive  litany."  Ay  ;  but  this  question  was 
drawn    along  the  lines    of    a    tremendous    principle. 


THE    COVENANTERS. 


357 


Tlie  question  was  one  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  free- 
dom ;  the  rights  of  conscience  were  involved  in  it ; 
the  freedom  of  worship  was  involved  in  it  ;  an  open 
Bible  was  involved  in  it.  Sto  pro  veritate !  The 
Scottish  people  were  right  in  pledging  their  lives  to 
the  vindication  of  truth,  and  history  has  vindicated 
their  cause.  There  is  no  country  on  earth  which  has 
had  so  overpowering  an  influence  in  the  advancement 
of  civil  and  religious  rights.  Ay  ;  man  or  nation, 
stand  for  the  truth.  Let  no  man  take  thy  crown. 
Stand  fast,  Crag  Ellachie  ! 

It  is  a  true  saying,  "  The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is 
the  seed  of  the  Church."  They  do  not  die  in  vain 
who  die  in  a  glorious  cause.  The  loss  of  honor,  the 
loss  of  self-respect,  the  loss  of  freedom,  is  far  beyond 
the  loss  of  earthly  goods  or  life.  We  are  the  stronger 
by  reason  of  the  courage  of  these  Covenanters  who 
adventured  all  upon  the  justice  of  their  cause.  Is 
there  one  among  us  whose  heart  does  not  thrill  in  re- 
membrance of  John  Knox's  daughter,  Jane  Welch, 
who  journeyed  far  to  entreat  her  king  for  the 
deliverance  of  her  exiled  husband  ?  He  answered, 
"Ay,  madam,  one  little  word  will  release  him.  Let 
him  but  say,  '  I  am  wrong  '  "  ;  and  she  held  up  her 
apron  with  her  two  hands  and  said,  "  Sire,  I  would 
rather  catch  his  head  here  !  "  It  is  courage  like  hers 
that  nerves  us  to  meet  the  strongest  trials  and 
sorrows  of  life. 

A  few  years  ago  I  stood  in  Grayfriars  kirk-yard. 
In  the  felons'  corner  were  the  bodies  of  the  martyrs 
intermingled  with  the  dust  of  thieves  and  murderers. 
On  the  face  of  the  monument  was  this  inscrip- 
tion : 


358  THE    COVENANTERS. 

"  Halt,  passenger,  take  heed  what  you  do  see. 
This  tomb  doth  shew  for  what  some  men  did  die. 
Here  lies  the  dust  of  those  who  stood 
'Gainst  perjury,  resisting  unto  blood. 
Adhering  to  the  Covenants,  and  laws 
Establishing  the  same,  which  was  the  cause 
Their  lives  were  sacrificed  unto  the  lust 
Of  prelates  adjured.     Though  here  their  dust 
Lies  mixed  with  murderers  and  other  crew 
Whom  justice  justly  did  to  death  pursue  : 
But  as  for  them ,  no  cause  was  to  be  found 
Worthy  of  death  ;  but  only  they  were  found 
Constant  and  steadfast,  zealous  witnessing 
For  the  prerogatives  of  Christ  their  King: — 
Which  truths  were  sealed  by  famous  Guthrie's  head  ; 
And  all  along  to  Mr.  Renwick's  blood 
They  did  endure  the  wrath  of  enemies, 
Reproaches,  torments,  deaths,  and  injuries. 
But  yet  they're  those  who  from  such  troubles  came 
And  now  triumph  in  the  glory  with  the  Lamb." 

While  I  stood  reverently  before  those  words  an  old 
Scotchman,  familiar  with  the  kirk-yard,  was  beside 
me.  I  pointed  to  a  mound  and  said,  "  Whose  grave 
is  this?"  "I  do  not  know."  "  And  whose  is  this  ? " 
"  I  do  not  know."  "  Is  there  no  record  of  their 
names?"  "  Nowhere  on  earth."  But  what  matters  it, 
good  friends,  so  long  as  we  are  confident  of  this,  that 
the  names  of  all  who  have  been  faithful  unto  death 
are  in  the  Book  of  Life — that  they  are  written  on  the 
palms  of  His  hands  close  by  the  nail-print  that  tells 
of  the  most  glorious  martyrdom  that  ever  was  known. 
He  never  forgets. 


THE  SIX  SORROWS  OF  ST.  PAUL 

"  If  I  must  needs  glory,  I  will  glory  of  the  things  which  concern  my  infirm> 
ities."— II.  Cor.  xi.  30. 

The  Sanhedrin  was  the  governing  body  of  Israel. 
It  embraced  within  itself  legislative,  executive  and 
judicial  functions.  It  made  the  laws  and  enforced 
them  and  it  was  the  court  of  last  appeal.  It  con- 
sisted of  seventy-two  members.  The  highest  honor 
in  Jewry  was  to  be  elected  to  this  august  body. 

Seven  years  after  the  ascension  of  our  Lord  there 
was  among  the  illustrious  gray-beards  of  the  San- 
hedrin a  young  man  of  remarkable  gifts  and  culture. 
He  was  not  above  thirty-three  years  of  age,  but, 
having  distinguished  himself  for  learning  at  Gama- 
liel's school,  he  had  already  been  made  a  Rabbi.  Since 
his  election  to  membership  in  this  venerable  body  he 
had  shown  a  remarkable  zeal  for  the  Jewish  faith. 
On  all  sides  a  glorious  future  was  predicted  for  him. 
At  this  time — 37  a.d. — the  Sanhedrin  was  greatly 
perplexed  with  reference  to  the  religion  of  the  Naza- 
rene  Prophet.  The  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  which  it  had 
been  hoped  would  put  an  utter  end  to  this  pestilent 
heresy,  had  been  futile.  Since  that  event  his  dis- 
ciples had  multiplied  ;  on  a  single  Pentecostal  occa- 
sion not  less  than  three  thousand  had  been  added 
to  their  number.     The  new  religion  was  making  itself 

(359) 


360  THE  SIX  SORROWS  OF  ST.  PAUL, 

conspicuous,  particularly  in  the  synagogues  and  at 
the  great  festivals.  It  was  obvious  that  something 
must  be  done  forthwith  to  arrest  it.  The  mind  of  the 
Sanhedrists  was  favorable  to  the  setting  up  of  an 
inquisition.  It  was  resolved  to  burn  out  the  heresy. 
Saul  of  Tarsus,  the  young  Sanhedrist,  was  chosen 
chief  inquisitor  ;  he  was  in  no  wise  averse  to  the 
task.  He  "made  havoc  of  the  Church,  entering  into 
every  house,  and  haling  men  and  women  committed 
them  to  prison."  Learning  that  the  religion  of  the 
Nazarene  was  making  rapid  strides  in  the  city  of 
Damascus,  he  directed  his  attention  that  way. 

At  noon  Saul,  "breathing  out  threatenings  and 
slaughter  against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,"  was 
riding  with  a  company  of  horsemen  along  the  highway 
to  Damascus,  when  a  great  thing  happened  which 
changed  the  current  of  his  life.  A  light  from  heaven 
fell  upon  him  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun  and  he 
fell  to  the  earth  blinded.  A  voice  said  to  him,  "Saul, 
Saul,  why  persecutes!  thou  me?"  He  answered, 
"Who  art  thou,  Lord?"  The  voice  replied,  "lam 
Jesus  whom  thou  persecutest ";  and  Saul,  trembling 
and  astonished,  said,  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me 
to  do?" 

Up  to  this  time  the  life  of  Saul  of  Tarsus  seems  to 
have  been  one  of  uninterrupted  prosperity.  But  with 
his  new  life  he  began  to  tread  the  narrow  road  of 
suffering — a  lane  without  a  turning,  until  he  entered 
upon  his  eternal  rest. 

The  first  of  PauVs  sorrows  was  the  temporary  blind- 
ness which  befell  him  at  his  conversion.  It  was  not  with- 
out a  purpose  that  this  darkness  closed  him  in.  He 
was  blindfolded  for  initiation  into  the  mysteries  of 
the  gospel  of  Christ. 


THE  SIX  SORROWS  OF  ST,  PAUL.  361 

It  is  not  an  extraordinary  thing  for  God  to  seclude 
his  people  in  this  way;  closing  their  eyes  to  the  outer 
world  in  order  that  they  may  look  in  upon  themselves 
and  upward  to  him.  John  Milton  dreamed  of  creat- 
ing a  glorious  epic,  but  his  dream  would  never  have 
been  realized,  had  not  God  withdrawn  him,  as  he  says, 
from  the  pleasures  of  youth  and  the  vapors  of  wine, 
and  curtained  his  soul  in  blindness.  Then  came  his 
visions  of  the  celestial  world.  Of  all  he  ever  wrote, 
there  is  nothing  more  beautiful  than  his  "  Ode  on  my 
Blindness." 

"  When  I  consider  how  my  light  is  spent 

Ere  half  my  days,  in  this  dark  world  and  wide, 
And  that  one  talent,  which  is  death  to  hide. 

Lodged  with  me  useless,  though  my  soul  were  bent 

To  serve  therewith  my  Maker,  and  present 
My  true  account,  lest  he  returning  chide; 
'  Doth  God  exact  day-labor,  light  denied  ?' 

I  fondly  ask  :     But  Patience,  to  prevent 

That  murmur,  soon  replies,  '  God  doth  not  need 
Either  man's  work  or  his  own  gifts  ;  who  best 
Bear  his  mild  yoke,  they  serve  him  best  ;  his  state 

Is  kingly  ;  thousands  at  his  bidding  speed, 
And  post  o'er  land  and  ocean  without  rest ; 
They  also  serve  who  only  stand  and  wait.'" 

While  Saul  of  Tarsus  was  thus  temporarily  shut 
up  within  himself  he  saw  some  things  which  other- 
wise would  never  have  come  to  him.  He  perceived, 
to  begin  with,  that  all  his  former  life  had  been  wrong; 
that  his  energies  had  been  misdirected  and  wasted. 
He  saw  again  the  face  of  Stephen,  to  whose  death  he 
had  consented,  shining  like  an  angel's  face  as  he 
lifted  it  toward  heaven  under  the  shower  of  stones 
hurled  upon  him  outside  the  wall,  and  heard  him  cry: 
"  I  see  the  heavens  opened  and  the  Son  of  man  stand- 


362  THE  SIX  SORROWS  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

ing  on  the  right  hand  of  God."  He  saw  how  griev- 
ously he  himself  had  misunderstood  the  prophet  of 
Nazareth.  He  had  thought  of  him  as  a  root  out  of  dry 
ground,  having  no  form  nor  comeliness  nor  beauty 
that  he  should  desire  him.  Now  he  knew  that  this 
Jesus  was  the  very  Christ,  the  long-looked-for  Mes- 
siah of  Israel,  the  veritable  Son  of  God.  He  saw  him 
chiefest  among  tfen  thousand  and  altogether  lovely  ; 
the  disguised  King.  He  knew  now  that  the  story  of 
his  resurrection  was  no  fable,  for  he  had  seen  Jesus  in 
light  and  glory  unapproachable,  the  very  Jesus 
whom  he  had  hated  and  whose  followers  he  had  per- 
secuted unto  death,  now  reigning  in  the  heaven  of 
heavens,  having  upon  his  vesture  and  thigh  a  name 
written  :  "  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords  ! " 
While  he  meditated  upon  these  things  sadly,  and  yet 
with  the  dawning  joy  of  a  great  discovery,  one  of 
the  followers  of  the  Nazarene  stood  beside  him,  say- 
ing, "  Brother  Saul,  receive  thy  sight  "  ;  his  eyes  were 
opened  and,  behold,  the  world  was  new;  the  new 
Presence  had  come  into  it,  and  henceforth  Saul  of 
Tarsus  would  know  nothing  but  Christ  and  him  cru- 
cified. From  this  time  onward  he  was  to  go  about 
declaring  that  this  Jesus  is  the  Christ.  Was  his  a 
singular  experience  ?  Nay;  the  world  is  new  to  every 
soul  when  the  living  Christ  has  entered  into  it. 

The  second  of  PauV  s  sorrows  was  surrender ;  for  now, 
like  a  captive  king  who  puts  off  his  crown  and  purple 
and  passes  under  the  yoke,  he  lays  down  all.  If  ever 
a  man  knew  the  meaning  of  unconditional  surrender 
at  the  beginning  of  the  new  life  it  was  this  Saul  of 
Tarsus.  A  great  gulf  opened  between  him  and  the 
past.  He  was  disowned  and  ostracized  ;  home,  kin- 
dred,  former  friendships,  all  gone.     Those  who  had 


THE  SIX  SORROWS  OF  ST.  PAUL.  ^6;^ 

been  proud  of  knowing  him  now  passed  him  on  the 
Street  without  a  word  of  greeting.  The  fond  dreams 
and  ambitions  of  his  former  years  were  gone.  No 
more  loolcing  forward  to  preferment  in  the  Sanhe- 
drin ;  no  more  thought  of  immortality  in  the  chronicles 
of  Israel.  Saul  of  Tarsus  had  thrown  away  his  op- 
portunity; he  had  fallen  in  with  the  company  of  those 
who  followed  the  crucified  carpenter.  The  pride  of 
his  Jewish  birthright  and  the  honor  of  his  Roman  citi- 
zenship were  gone.  He  must  begin  life  over  again 
and  build  on  a  new  foundation.  Most  lamentable 
was  the  loss  of  his  former  religious  connections,  his 
ecclesiastical  birthright.  How  he  had  loved  the  tem- 
ple and  its  imposing  ceremonial  !  How  he  had  loved 
the  Talmud  and  its  rabbinical  lore  ! 

And  was  there  compensation  for  this  loss  ?  He 
stood  within  the  temple  and  saw  its  walls  receding; 
he  felt  himself  in  a  vaster  and  more  glorious  fabric. 
Ecclesia!  The  Church!  The  great  assembly  of  all 
who  love  truth  and  righteousness.  The  walls  of 
separation  are  down  ;  the  veil  is  rent  asunder  ;  the 
doors  are  open  wide  ;  a  voice  is  heard,  "  Look  unto 
me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth  "  ;  and 
the  voice  of  the  goodly  fellowship  responds,  "  One 
Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of 
us  all."  The  soul  of  the  new  convert  is  exalted  to 
an  unspeakable  joy.  Ring  out  the  old  !  ring  in  the 
new!  A  world  of  new  interests  opens  before  him. 
Truth,  righteousness  and  benevolence  are  everything 
now.  The  face  of  his  new  Master  shines  above  and 
there  is  no  trace  of  sorrow  in  the  words  with  which 
he  responds  :  "  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  ex- 
cellency of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord  ; 
for  whom  I  have   suffered  the  loss  of   all  things,  and 


364  THE  SIX  SORROWS  OF  ST.  PAUL. 

do  count  them  but  dung,  that  I  may  win  Christ,  and 
be  found  in  him,  not  having  my  own  righteousness, 
which  is  of  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the 
faith  of  Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by 
faith  :  that  I  may  know  him,  and  the  power  of  his 
resurrection,  and  the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings, 
being  made  conformable  unto  his  death  ;  if  by  any 
means  I  might  attain  unto  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  I  count  not  myself  to  have  apprehended  :  but 
this  one  thing  I  do,  forgetting  those  things  which  are 
behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those  things  which 
are  before,  I  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of 
the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus." 

The  third  of  his  sorrows  was  poverty.  It  would  ap- 
pear that  he  was  the  son  of  a  v/ell-to-do  family  in 
Tarsus  ;  but  if  so,  by  the  Jewish  custom,  he  was  now 
stripped  of  his  patrimony — "cut  off  with  a  shilling." 
As  a  Rabbi  he  had  received  his  livelihood  from  the 
temple  treasury  ;  this  also  was  gone.  And  what  had 
he  to  fall  back  upon  ?  Fortunately  it  was  required 
that  every  Jewish  boy  should  learn  a  trade,  and  Saul, 
in  his  early  life,  had  learned  the  art  of  tent-making. 
At  Corinth  he  applies  for  work  at  the  shop  of  Aquila 
and  Priscilla,  and  there  we  find  him  plying  his  needle. 
The  white  hands  of  Gamaliel's  scholar  are  callous 
with  toil,  but  he  assures  us  that  in  all  this  he  rejoices 
that  he  was  "  chargeable  to  no  man."  While  working 
with  his  needle  he  preached  the  gospel  to  his  shop- 
mates  ;  when  working  hours  were  over  he  found  his 
way  to  the  sj'nagogue  and  there  reasoned  with  the 
people  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ. 

And  what  was  his  compensation  for  this  loss  of 
patrimony  and  competence,  for  this  reduction  to 
the  level  of  common  toil }     "  I  have  all  things  and 


THE  SIX  SORROWS  OF  ST.  PAUL.  365 

abound,"  says  he.  Oh,  the  riches  of  grace  !  the  un- 
searchable riches  of  Christ!  Riches!  Riches!  Riches! 
Every  day  brought  its  reward,  a  penny  at  evening. 
A  penny  only  !  Ay  ;  but  it  bore  the  image  and  the 
superscription  of  the  King.  The  smile  of  the  Master 
made  his  penny  more  than  the  millionaire's  wealth. 
It  is  said  that  Han  Qua  of  Peking  is  worth  sixteen  hun- 
dred millions  of  dollars.  Go  into  his  vaults  and  look 
about  you  ;  gold,  silver,  in  bags  and  boxes,  thousands, 
millions — nothing  !  Nothing  to  the  riches  of  grace. 
Dust  and  ashes.  Go  out  of  these  vaults  of  perishable 
treasure  and  stand  beside  the  Apostle  and  hear  him 
rhapsodize  on  the  immeasurable  wealth  of  the  king- 
dom :  the  hills  are  all  of  silver,  the  rivers  are  molten 
gold,  the  stars  of  night  are  Koh-i-noors,  and  all  are 
his  and  all  are  mine  and  all  are  yours,  if  Christ  is 
ours.  "All  things,"  says  Paul,  "are  yours;  the 
world,  life,  death,  things  present,  things  to  come,  all 
are  yours,  for  ye  are  Christ's  and  Christ  is  God's." 

The  fourth  of  his  sorrows  was  his  thorn  in  the  flesh. 
It  is  not  of  supreme  importance  that  we  should  know 
precisely  what  this  was.  It  may  have  been  a  dimness 
of  sight,  a  lingering  trace  of  the  blindness  that  befell 
him  on  the  Damascus  highway.  It  may  have  been, 
as  Cajetanus  says,  "  a  hostile  angel  sent  of  Satan  to 
buffet  him."  It  may  have  been  a  besetting  sin,  a 
passion  or  appetite  coming  over  from  the  old  life  and 
ever  striving  to  get  the  better  of  him.  Whatever  it 
was,  he  tells  us  he  besought  the  Lord  thrice  that  it 
might  depart  from  him  and  the  Lord  said,  "  Nay  ; 
but  my  grace  shall  be  sufficient  for  thee;  for  my 
strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness."  This  was 
better  than  the  removal  of  the  cause.  They  tell  us 
that  the  Gold  Cure  takes  away  the  appetite  for  drink, 


2,66  THE  SIX  SORROWS  OF  ST.   PAUL. 

but  God  in  his  grace  does  that  which  is  far  better  ; 
he  leaves  the  appetite,  but  gives  a  man  the  power  to 
overcome  it.  Is  there  a  greater  joy  in  all  human  life 
than  this, — to  beat  down  our  baser  nature  and  triumph 
over  it  ?  Is  not  this  manhood  ?  Is  not  this  the  very- 
summit  of  character? 

So  says  the  Apostle  :  "  I  will  most  gladly  glory  in 
my  infirmities  that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon 
me  :  I  will  take  pleasure  in  my  infirmities,  for  when 
I  am  weak  then  I  am  strong."  Grace  is  Paul's  sign- 
manual  ;  his  fourteen  Epistles  close  with  it.  There 
is  nothing  better  in  the  world  than  the  gift  of  this 
heavenly  grace.  This  is  that  "fragrant  myrtle  "  of 
which  Pliny  speaks,  "  If  it  be  held  in  the  hand,  it  will 
sustain  strength  and  relieve  all  weariness."  "  I  can 
do  all  things,"  says  Paul,  "through  Christ  which 
strengtheneth  me." 

The  fiflh  of  his  sorrows  was  persecution.  This  began 
with  his  excommunication.  He  was  branded  as  an 
apostate.  Then  the  long  catalogue  of  suffering:  "Of 
the  Jews  five  times  received  I  forty  stripes  save  one  ; 
thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once  was  I  stoned  ;  in 
journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of 
robbers,  in  perils  of  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils 
of  the  heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the 
wilderness,  in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  among  false 
brethren  ;  in  weariness  and  painfulness,  in  watchings 
often,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  cold  and  nakedness — 
if  I  must  needs  glory,  I  will  glory  in  the  things  which 
concern  mine  infirmities  !  " 

In  all  these  he  was  comforted  by  the  thought  that 
he  was  thus  received  into  the  fellowship  of  his  Lord: 
"  I  rejoice,"  he  says,  "in  my  sufferings  for  you,  and 
fill  up  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ." 


THE  SIX  SORROWS  OF  ST.  PAUL.  367 

The  marks  of  his  suffering  are  the  scars  of  an  honor- 
able service  under  a  glorious  captain:  "Henceforth," 
he  cries,  'Met  no  man  trouble  me,  for  I  bear  in  my 
body  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 

On  one  occasion,  when  Paul  was  on  his  way  to 
Jerusalem,  a  certain  prophet  named  Agabus  took  the 
Apostle's  girdle  and  bound  his  own  hands  and  feet 
and  said:  "So  shall  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem  bind  the 
man  that  owneth  this  girdle  and  deliver  him  into  the 
hands  of  his  foes."  Then  the  friends  of  the  Apostle 
began  to  entreat  him  not  to  continue  his  ominous 
journey,  to  which  he  answered:  "What  mean  ye  to 
weep  and  break  mine  heart  ?  for  [  am  ready  not  to  be 
bound  only,  but  also  to  die  at  Jerusalem  for  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus."  He  counted  this  to  be  his  chiefest 
honor;  to  be  permitted  to  enter  into  the  fellowship  of 
the  sufferings  of  Christ,  that  he  might  also  reign 
with  him. 

The  last  of  his  sorrows  was  restraint.     If  ever  a  man 
needed  room,  it  was  Paul.     Yet  much  of  his  life  was 
spent  in  prison;  under  restrictions  so  narrow  that  he 
could  touch  the  borders  of  his  parish  with  his  finger 
tips.     Two  years  in  prison  in  Cesarea;  two  years  in 
the  Praetorian  Camp   at    Rome  ;  a  further  season  of 
confinement,  probably  in  the  Mammertine  jail.  Mean- 
while he  was  by  no  means  idle.     Out  of  his  prison 
door  went  his  Epistles  like  leaves  fluttering  from  the 
tree  of  life.     He  preached   the  gospel   to  the  guard 
who   was  chained  to  his  wrist.     His  rejoicing  was, 
that  despite  his  own  fetters  and  manacles,  the  word 
of  God  was  not  bound. 

Then  he  was  summoned  before  Nero  the  Lion. 
He  laments  that  on  this  occasion  no  man  stood  with 
him    but   all    forsook    him,    and    adds,    "  Notwith- 


368  THE    SIX    SORROWS   OF    ST,    PAUL. 

Standing  the  Lord  stood  with  me  and  strengthened 
me."  It  is  said  that  the  presence  of  Garibaldi,  dur- 
ing his  Italian  campaign,  was  of  inestimable  value  to 
his  brave  men.  The  battle  over,  he  passed  through 
the  hospitals  where  the  wounded  were  groaning  and 
shrieking;  and  when  he  laid  his  hand  upon  the  fevered 
brow,  the  patient  would  look  up,  and  murmuring, 
"  Garibaldi !  "  would  set  his  teeth  and  suffer  in  silence. 
So  was  the  heart  of  Paul  strengthened  by  his  Lord's 
presence  in  the  supreme  hour  of  need. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  first  trial  Paul  was  deliv- 
ered out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Lion  ;  but  after  a  brief 
respite,  he  was  summoned  again  before  the  Imperial 
Court.  Then  came  the  death  sentence,  but  the  Lord 
stood  with  him  and  strengthened  him.  He  was  led 
out  beyond  the  walls  to  the  place  of  execution;  on 
one  side  of  him  stood  the  headsman  with  his  gleam- 
ing sword,  on  the  other  side  stood  his  Lord  strengthen- 
ing him  and  saying,  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death  and 
I  will  give  thee  the  crown  of  life";  the  sword  flashed 
for  an  instant,  fell — and  the  next  moment  Paul  the 
Apostle  beheld  the  King  in  his  beauty. 

One  lesson  :  "  No  affliction  for  the  present  seem- 
eth  to  be  joyous,  but  grievous  ;  but  in  the  end  it 
worketh  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness  to 
them  that  are  exercised  thereby."  We  are  asked, 
"  Does  God  send  trouble  ?  "  No  and  yes.  He  is  a 
poor  father  who  will  not,  on  occasion,  chasten  his 
children  for  their  good.  It  is  safe  to  say,  nevertheless, 
that  much  the  larger  portion  of  our  sorrow  comes  not 
from  above,  but  from  the  Prince  of  Darkness  who  de- 
sires to  buffet  us.  Let  us  rejoice,  however,  in  the 
assurance  that  God  is  stronger  than  Satan  and  able 
to  overrule  all  his  designing,  so  that  all  things   shall 


THE  SIX  SORROWS  OF  ST.  PAUL.  369 

be  made  to  work  together  for  our  good,  if  we  love 
God.  Were  it  not  for  these  sorrows  that  befall  us 
we  should  be  like  the  bees  of  Barbadoes.  Darwin  says 
that  these  little  insects,  having  been  taken  thither  for 
the  advantage  of  the  luxuriant  flora,  found  the 
weather  so  fine  and  the  perfume  so  abundant,  that  they 
became  profligate  after  the  first  year,  ate  up  their 
capital,  and  worked  no  more,  but  went  flying  about 
like  indolent  butterflies.  Let  us,  glory,  therefore,  in 
our  infirmities,  for  in  them  the  strength  of  God  rests 
upon  us.  A  great  joy  awaits  those  who  subsidize  all 
the  conditions  of  this  present  life  to  the  building  up 
of  character  and  goodness.  "I  reckon,"  says  Paul — 
and  he  was  quite  competent  to  speak  in  these  prem- 
ises, having  considered  the  matter  pro  and  con  out 
of  a  rich  personal  experience — "  I  reckon  that  the 
sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be 
compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed 
in  us." 


HE  SHALL  SO  COME. 

"And  while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven  as  he  went  up,  behold,  two 
men  stood  by  them  in  whiteapparel ;  which  als  )  said.  Ye  men  of  Galilee, 
why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into  heaven?  This  same  Jesus,  which  is  taken 
up  from  you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen 
him  go  into  heaven." — Acts  i.  9,  10. 

Scene  :  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Time  :  forty  days 
after  Christ's  resurrection.  A  group  of  friends  have 
come  together  by  his  appointment.  While  waiting 
for  his  appearance  they  speak  in  low  murmurs  of  the 
years  that  are  past,  so  eventful  in  toil  and  suffering 
and  full  of  glorious  promise.  They  speak  of  the  future: 
it  may  be  that  their  Lord  will  at  this  time  proclaim  his 
earthly  sovereignty  ;  possibly  this  is  the  meaning  of 
this  appointment  to-day;  he  will  lead  the  way  to 
Jerusalem,  claim  his  sceptre,  and  usher  in  the  Golden 
Age. 

Down  below  flows  the  Kedron  ;  how  often  they 
have  crossed  it  on  their  way  to  the  sacred  shadows 
of  Gethsemane  !  In  the  distance  are  the  homes  and 
temples  of  Jerusalem.  Whichever  way  they  look  is 
holy  ground.  The  footprints  of  their  Lord  are  on 
every  path  and  hillside.  Memories  come  crowding 
thick  and  fast  upon  the  minds  of  these  watchers  of 
Olivet, — when  suddenly  he  stands  among  them  ! 

"Peace  be  unto  you!"  How  eagerly  they  gaze 
upon  the  face  that  so  lately  was  marked  with  anguish 

(370) 


HE    SHALL    SO    COME.  37I 

and  blood.  The  greetings  over,  they  unburden  their 
minds:  "Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  the 
kingdom  to  Israel?"  He  replies,  "It  is  not  for  you 
to  know  the  times  or  the  seasons."  Then  he  renews 
the  promise  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit;  and  re- 
peats the  injunction,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  gospel !  "  They  gather  around  him  in 
love  and  wonder  and  reverence  ;  he  lifts  his  pierced 
hands  in  blessing,  and  slowly  rises  from  their  midst. 
"Earth  has  lost  her  power  to  keep;  the  waiting 
heavens  claim  him."  As  he  ascends  through  the 
yielding  air  his  eyes  are  bent  on  his  disciples  ;  his 
arms  are  outstretched,  and  his  voice,  heard  for  the 
last  time,  dies  away  in  benediction.  They  utter  no 
despairing  cry  like  that  of  the  prophet  on  the  banks 
of  the  Jordan;  but  silently,  with  strained  eyes,  follow 
him  upward  into  the  deep  blue  till  the  clouds,  like  a 
white  pavilion,  enfold  him.  There  are  flashes  of  gold 
like  chariots,  vibrations  of  light  like  the  waving  of 
silken  banners,  then  a  crimson  glory  like  the  rolling 
back  of  heaven's  gates. 

How  simple,  yet  sublime,  this  parting  of  Christ 
from  his  earthly  friends  !  But  who  shall  tell  what 
took  place  behind  the  receiving  clouds  ?  In  what 
new  form  of  majesty,  with  what  swift  flight  through 
the  rare,  cloudless  ether,  by  what  celestial  hosts  at- 
tended and  with  what  rhapsodies  of  song,  was  this 
King  of  Glory  carried  through  the  everlasting  gates 
and  welcomed  to  the  holy  hill  ?  Did  these  disciples 
kneeling  on  Olivet  with  upturned  faces  hear  as  from 
afar  off,  from  beyond  the  distant  sun,  an  echo  of  the 
ancient  war  cry  of  prophecy,  "  God  is  gone  up  with  a 
shout,  the  Lord  with  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  !  "  or 
a  mingled  sound  as  of  many  waters,  when  their  risen 


372  HE    SHALL    SO    COME. 

Lord  passed  through  the  prostrate  ranks  of  the  great 
multitude,  while  angels  that  excel  in  strength  and 
elders  with  harps  and  vials  full  of  odors  bowed  low 
and  sang,  "Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to 
receive  power  and  riches  and  wisdom  and  strength 
and  honor  and  glory  and  blessing  "  ;  and  ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand  with  a  voice  like  the  roll 
of  the  ocean,  cried,  "  Amen,"  as  he  sat  down  to  reign 
forever.  King  of  kings,  on  the  throne  of  heaven  — 
were  these  the  visions  that  passed  before  the  be- 
wildered eyes  of  the  disciples  that  day  ? 

"Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into 
heaven?"  Two  men  in  white  apparel  are  before 
them,  and  with  these  words  they  recall  the  followers 
of  Christ  from  their  contemplation  of  the  voiceless 
skies.  This  is  no  hour  for  reverie.  Life  with  its 
tasks  and  trials  is  before  them.  The  world  still 
shrouded  in  darkness  calls  to  them  for  help.  It  is 
theirs  to  reap  the  harvest  of  immortal  souls.  "  Make 
bare  your  arms  ;  thrust  in  the  sickle  ;  lo,  the  fields 
are  white.  Go  ye,  evangelize  !  "  It  is  no  time  to  be 
dreaming  over  the  past  or  seeking  with  curious  eyes 
to  pierce  the  veil  behind  which  the  Lord  has  disap- 
peared. "  Why  gaze  ye  upward  ?  This  same  Jesus 
who  is  taken  up  from  you  shall  so  come  in  like 
manner  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  !  " 

It  is  written  that  the  disciples  then  went  back 
to  Jerusalem  with  great  joy  and  were  continually  in 
the  temple,  praising  and  blessing  God.  A  new  watch- 
word was  in  their  hearts  and  on  their  lips,  "  Maran- 
atha!"  "  Our  Lord  cometh."  What  strength  and  inspira- 
tion ;  what  earnest  of  victory  and  princely  promotion, 
are  in  that  word !  It  was  their  morning  greeting:  "  Our 
Lord  cometh  !  "    Why  should  they  tremble  at  the  ana- 


HE    SHALL    SO    COME,  373 

thema  or  the  roaring  of  the  beasts  of  Ephesus  ?  He 
shall  so  come  as  we  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven.  The 
eagles  of  hated  Rome  shall  be  dragged  in  the  dust, 
and  the  followers  of  the  Nazarene  shall  tread  their 
enemies  under  foot.  He  shall  take  unto  him  his  great 
power  and  reign  more  magnificent  than  Solomon  in 
all  his  glory.  By  this  hope  they  were  sustained  amid 
persecution  until  the  years  went  by  and,  weary  of 
watching  the  skies,  one  by  one  the  disciples  fell  on 
sleep.  An  old  man  on  a  distant  island  in  the  -^gean 
was  left  alone,  dreaming  dreams  and  seeing 
visions.  One  day  the  Voice  said,  "  Behold,  I  come 
quickly  !  "  He  answered,  "  Amen.  Even  so  come. 
Lord  Jesus"  ;  and  thus  entered  into  rest. 

Now  eighteen  centuries  have  passed  and  still  the 
eyes  of  the  Lord's  people  are  turned  toward  the  East. 
The  years  pass  and  the  ages  with  their  slow  revolving 
wheels  ;  and  hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart  sick. 
"  How  long,  O  Lord,  how  long  !  Come,  and  make  no 
tarrying."  But  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  Yea  and 
Arnen.  It  is  not  for  us  to  know  the  times  or  the 
seasons,  but  his  promise  standeth  sure.  "He  shall 
so  come  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven." 

L  This  means  that  he  shall  surely  come;  as  surely  as 
they  saw  him  go  into  heaven.  There  is  no  uncertain 
sound  in  the  word  of  Scripture  at  this  point,  and  a 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord  "  should  be  to  us  for  an  end  of 
controversy.  It  was  predicted  by  our  Lord  himself 
that  in  the  last  days,  by  reason  of  his  long  tarrying, 
there  would  be  misgivings;  "When  the  Son  of  Man 
Cometh  shall  he  find  faith  on  the  earth  ?"  So  Peter 
warned  the  disciples  that  scoffers  would  appear  in 
the  latter  days,  saying,  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  his 
coming?"     And  to  meet  this  he  reminded  them  how 


374  HE    SHALL    SO    COME. 

the  deluge  was  long  delayed,  but  came  at  last  when 
it  was  not  looked  for  :  "  As  it  was  in  the  days  of 
Noah,  so  shall  be  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man." 
How  was  it  in  the  days  of  Noah  ?  An  old  man  hun- 
dreds of  miles  from  the  nearest  water  busied  himself 
for  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  in  the  building  of 
a  boat,  meanwhile  exhorting  the  people  to  repent, 
because  the  Lord  would  overwhelm  the  world.  Did 
they  believe  his  word  ?  Nay  ;  they  thought  him  de- 
mented. As  they  passed  by,  seeing  him  engaged 
with  saw  and  hammer  year  after  year,  they  derided 
him.  "  Old  man,  what  are  the  signs  of  the  weather  ? 
A  fine  boat  this  !  When  do  you  propose  to  launch 
it  ? "  But  the  flood  came  ;  the  flood  came  in  an  hour 
when  they  thought  not  and  swept  them  all  away.  So 
says  Peter,  *'  A  thousand  years  are  with  God  as  one 
day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand  years."  But  of  his 
coming  in  the  fulness  of  time  there  is  no  doubt  what- 
ever.    The  word  of  the  Lord  standeth  sure. 

II.  He  shall  come  visibly.  They  saw  him  go  and  they 
shall  see  him  come.  Every  eye  shall  see  him  and 
they  also  which  pierced  him.  Hisce  oculis !  "With 
these  eyes  !  " 

There  is  a  thrilling  representation  of  the  Second 
Advent  in  the  opening  of  the  sixth  seal  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse :  "  And  lo,  there  was  a  great  earthquake;  and 
the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth  of  hair,  and  the 
moon  became  as  blood  ;  and  the  stars  of  heaven  fell, 
even  as  a  fig  tree  casteth  her  untimely  figs,  when 
shaken  of  a  mighty  wind.  And  the  heaven  departed 
as  a  scroll  when  it  is  rolled  together  ;  and  the  moun- 
tains and  islands  were  moved  out  of  their  places. 
And  the  kings  and  potentates  and  mighty  men  came 
forth."     These  were  the  same  who  had  opposed  the 


HE    SHALL    SO   COME.  375 

claims  of  Messiah,  saying,  "  Let  us  break  his  bands 
asunder  and  cast  away  his  cords  from  us."  Now,  be- 
hold, what  panic  among  them  !  what  blanching  of 
faces  !  He  whom  they  scourged  and  spit  upon  and 
nailed  to  the  accursed  tree,  is  very  God  of  very  God. 
"  And  they  called  upon  the  mountains  and  the  rocks, 
saying,  Fall  upon  us  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of 
him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of 
the  Lamb."  The  wrath  of  the  Lamb  !  Meekness  on 
fire  with  holy  indignation  ! 

Meanwhile  the  friends  of  Jesus  assembling  from 
every  quarter  have  turned  their  faces  toward  the 
throne.  In  their  divine  Friend  they  behold  the  chief- 
est  among  ten  thousand  and  the  One  altogether  love- 
ly. The  great  consummation  has  come.  Their  hopes 
are  realized.  The  head  that  once  was  crowned  with 
thorns  is  crowned  with  glory  now. 

I  remember  as  a  lad  hearing  the  story  of  an  old 
woman  who  had  stood  in  the  procession  that  wel- 
comed Washington  on  his  return  from  war.  Her  dim 
eyes  kindled  with  enthusiasm,  as  she  told  of  that 
splendid  day.  How  the  girls  of  the  village  were  clad 
in  white  dresses  with  red  sashes  and  stars  and  green 
garlands — how  they  strewed  flowers  in  the  way  of 
the  conqueror.  But  what  will  be  the  gladness  of  that 
day  when  we  shall  behold  our  Lord  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven  ;  coming  to  receive  his  own  and  to 
reign  King  over  all  and  blessed  forever  ! 

in.  He  shall  come  personally.  Not  merely  as  some 
suppose  in  spiritual  manifestation  or  in  demonstration 
of  his  moral  power,  but  ///  propria  persona.  "  This 
same  Jesus  whom  ye  have  seen  go  into  heaven  shall  so 
come." 

He  shall  be  the  very  God-Man  who  dwelt  among 


376  HE    SHALL    SO    COME. 

US.  The  blending  of  Deity  and  humanity  in  the  in- 
carnation was  not  for  a  temporary  purpose.  He  is 
Theanthropos  forever — one  with  us  in  an  eternal  fellow- 
ship. His  eyes  are  the  same  eyes  that  during  his 
earthly  ministry  looked  with  compassion  on  suffering 
men  ;  his  feet  are  the  same  feet  that  trod  the  high- 
ways cf  Galilee  ;  his  hands  are  the  same  hands  that 
were  outstretched  in  mercy  ;  his  heart  is  the  same 
heart  that  beat  responsive  to  the  world's  need  and 
broke  under  the  burden  of  the  world's  sin. 

We  shall  be  able  to  identify  him  by  the  very  scars 
of  his  suffering.  John  in  his  vision  saw  him  as  a 
"Lamb  that  had  been  slain."  His  wound-prints  are 
the  vindication  of  his  people's  right  to  pardon  and 
eternal  life. 

"  Five  bleeding  wounds  he  bears, 
Received  on  Calvary  ; 
They  pour  effectual  prayers, 
They  strongly  plead  for  me," 

But  his  body,  though  identical  with  that  which  he 
wore  during  his  ministry  on  earth,  is  changed.  Some- 
where between  the  mount  of  ascension  and  the  throne 
it  was  changed.  It  must  be  spiritualized  to  fit  it  for 
the  spiritual  realm.  All  things  in  nature  and  grace 
are  adjusted  to  their  environment.  The  butterfly 
and  the  caterpillar  are  the  same  ;  only  the  former 
was  made  to  fly  and  the  latter  to  crawl.  In  the  bulb 
which  is  planted  in  the  earth  there  is  all  the  potency 
of  the  flower  ;  bulb  and  tuberose  are  the  same  ;  but 
the  former  was  made  for  a  home  beneath  the  ground, 
the  latter  to  fill  the  atmosphere  with  beauty  and  per- 
fume. The  body  of  Jesus  to-day  is  the  very  same 
that  was  laid  away  in  the  sepulchre  ;  nevertheless  a 


HE    SHALL    SO    COME.  377 

change  beyond  any  of  the  metamorphoses  of  Ovid 
has  passed  upon  it.  And  this  is  the  earnest  and  fore- 
gleam  of  what  shall  occur  with  us  :  "For,  behold,  I 
show  you  a  mystery  ;  we  shall  all  be  changed  in  a 
moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye."  In  all  the  ritual 
of  the  universal  Church  there  is  nothing  more  glad- 
some than  the  Burial  Service  in  which  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  say  :  "We  do  now  commit  this  body  to  the 
ground  ;  earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust ; 
looking  for  the  general  resurrection,  and  the  life  of 
the  world  to  come,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;  at 
whose  advent  the  earth  and  the  sea  shall  give  up  their 
dead  ;  and  the  corruptible  bodies  of  them  that  sleep 
in  him  shall  be  made  like  unto  his  own  glorious  body." 
In  like  manner  John  says,  "  Beloved,  now  are  we  the 
sons  of  God  ;  but  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we 
shall  be  ;  but  we  know  that  when  he  shall  appear,  we 
shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

IV.  He  shall  come  gloriously.  There  are  three 
tokens  of  the  splendor  of  his  advent.  First,  the 
trumpet.  This  is  in  the  hand  of  the  herald  who  goes 
before  to  announce  the  coming  of  the  King.  Second, 
the  cloud ;  not  the  dust-cloud  that  rises  when  the 
chariot  of  the  king  rolls  hither  with  outriders  before 
it,  but  the  Shekinah  of  the  Lord,  which  is  called  "  His 
most  excellent  glory."  It  is  the  same  cloud  that 
stood  above  the  Tabernacle  ;  that  led  the  children  of 
Israel  through  their  wilderness  journey  ;  that  enfold- 
ed the  disciples  upon  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration. 
The  cloud  that  served  as  his  pavilion  shall,  at  his 
advent,  be  the  chariot  of  the  King.  Third,  the 
retwue  of  angels.  When  he  came  to  Bethlehem  a 
mother  bent  over  his  cradle,  a  few  rustics  looked  in 
through  the    stable  door,  a  group  of  shepherds  knelt 


378  HE    SHALL    SO    COME. 

beside  him,  and  a  company  of  wise  men  came  thither 
on  camels  to  lay  their  gold  and  frankincense  and 
myrrh  before  his  feet.  When  he  made  his  missionary 
journeys  among  the  villages  of  Palestine,  he  was 
followed  by  a  company  of  fishermen  and  other 
humble  folk.  One  bright  day  in  the  spring  of  29  he 
and  his  disciples  with  a  multitude  of  Passover- 
pilgrims  turned  the  spur  of  Olivet ;  at  sight  of  the 
domes  of  Jerusalem  a  cry  was  raised  by  those  who 
went  before  and  those  that  followed  after  :  "  Hosan- 
na  !  hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David  !  Blessed  is  he 
that  Cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  !  "  But  at  his 
final  appearing  the  shining  seats  of  heaven  will  be 
emptied  to  furnish  his  retinue,  the  skies  will  glow 
with  gilded  chariots,  the  clouds  will  wave  like 
banners,  and  he,  coming  on  before  clothed  in  a 
garment  dipped  in  blood,  will  be  followed  by  the 
white  squadron,  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  and 
thousands  of  thousands,  crying,  "  Worthy  art  thou 
to  receive  honor  and  glory  and  power  and  dominion 
forever  and  ever  !  ' 

V.  He  wtllcome  beneficently.  His  coming  in  the  in- 
carnation was  to  redeem  the  world.  The  word  which 
he  uttered  on  the  cross,  '"  It  is  finished  !  "  marked  the 
beginning  of  the  end.  The  work  goes  on  and  will 
reach  its  final  consummation  when  he  appears  again 
in  the  clouds  of  heaven.  Then  will  occur  the  res- 
titution of  all  things. 

Sin  will  be  destroyed  from  the  earth  in  that  day  ; 
sin  that  ruins  homes  and  pollutes  society  and  blasts 
the  very  fields  ;  sin,  the  only  curse  the  world  has 
ever  known,  the  trail  of  the  serpent  over  all.  His 
fan  shall  be  in  his  hand  at  his  appearing,  and  he 
shall    thoroughly  purge  the  floor  ;  sin  shall  be  swept 


HE    SHALL  SO    COME.  379 

away  as  chaff    is  swept  away  by  the  wind,  and  right- 
eousness shall  be  established  forever  on  earth. 

The  wicked  shall  be  banished  to  their  own  place. 
This  also  shall  be  done  in  mercy  ;  for  the  world  puri- 
fied would  be  a  very  hell  for  those  whose  characters 
have  beer  established  in  sin.  No  dram-shops,  no 
brothels,  no  gambling  hells  !  What  would  the 
wicked  do  ?  Such  an  earth  would  be  a  very  hell  to 
them.  It  is,  therefore,  in  mercy  that  they  are  driven 
to  their  own  place. 

Then  Christ  shall  take  his  place  upon  the  throne 
and  usher  in  the  Golden  Age.  The  mountains  and 
the  hills  shall  break  forth  before  him  into  singing  ; 
and  the  trees  of  the  field  shall  clap  their  hands  be- 
fore him.  Instead  of  the  thorn  shall  come  up  the  fir 
tree,  and  instead  of  the  brier  shall  come  up  the  myr- 
tle tree  :  and  it  shall  be  to  the  Lord  for  a  name,  for 
an  everlasting  sign  that  shall  not  be  cut  off.  New 
heavens  and  a  new  earth.  The  temple  of  Janus  shall 
be  shut  forever.  No  man  shall  need  to  say,  "  Know 
thou  the  Lord,"  for  all  shall  know  him,  from  the 
least  unto  the  greatest.  And  Jesus  shall  reign  from 
the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  So  shall  be 
ushered  in  the  Golden  Age. 

But  when  shall  these  things  be  ?  "  Take  heed 
lest  any  deceive  you.  If  any  man  shall  say,  Lo  here, 
or  lo  there,  believe  him  not.  For  as  the  lightning 
Cometh,  so  also  shall  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man 
be."  It  was  believed  at  the  close  of  the  tenth  century 
that  the  world  was  coming  to  an  end.  At  that  time 
wars,  plagues,  famines,  the  breaking  up  of  social 
order,  were  thought  to  be  signs  of  dissolution  in 
heaven  and  earth.  At  the  approach  of  the  year 
looo   the    people,    with    one   consent,     prepared    for 


o 


80  HE    SHALL    SO    COME. 


the  Advent  of  the  King.  All  work  was  suspended  ; 
th='  land  was  left  untilled.  Henry  the  Emperor 
of  Germany  came  down  from  his  throne,  donned  a 
monk's  cowl,  and  went  preaching,  "  Repent  ye,  for 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand."  Crowds  of 
the  people  slept  in  the  porches  and  under  the 
shadow  of  cathedrals.  The  Truce  of  God  was 
proclaimed.  The  pulpits  rang  with  the  visions 
of  the  Apocalypse.  Thus  the  last  night  of  the  year 
was  reached.  All  that  night  the  streets  and  open 
fields  and  monastery  roofs  were  filled  with  men  and 
women  watching  the  skies.  The  hours  went  by ; 
midnight  came  ;  the  stars  paled  ;  the  first  faint 
streak  of  the  morning  was  seen  in  the  East ;  and 
then,  as  if  a  great  burden  had  been  lifted  from  its 
heart,  the  world  arose  from  its  paralysis  of  fear  and 
turned  again  to  the  earnest  duties  of  life.  "Soldiers 
of  Christ,"  cried  Sylvester,  "  arise  and  fight  for  Zion  !  " 
The  Crusades  began.  New  plans  of  royal  conquest 
were  suggested.  At  this  time  were  laid  the  broad 
and  deep  foundations  of  those  mediaeval  cathedrals 
which,  with  their  buttressed  towers,  bear  witness 
to-day  to  the  enthusiasm  of  a  world  born  anew 
into  the  hope  of  a  vigorous  life. 

It  is  useless  to  busy  ourselves  with  prophetic 
arithmetic.  The  key  of  Daniel's  mystical  figures 
hangs  at  God's  girdle.  And  the  question,  "  When 
comest  thou?"  is  of  far  less  importance  than  "What 
wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?  "  Hear  then  the  conclusion 
of  the  whole  matter  :  "  Watch  !  And  again  I  say  un- 
to you,  Watch  !  For  yet  a  little  while  and  he  that 
shall  come  will  come  and  will  not  tarry."  A  brave 
song  was  that  of  Charles  Kingsley  : 


HE    SHALL    SO    COME.  381 

"  Who  would  sit  down  and  sigh  for  a  lost  Age  of  Gold  ' 

When  the  Lord  of  all  ages  is  here  ? 
True  hearts  will  leap  up  at  the  trumpet  of  God, 

And  those  who  can  suffer,  can  dare. 
Each  old  Age  of  Gold  was  an  Iron  Age  too. 
And  the  meekest  of  saints  can  find  stern  work  to  do. 

In  the  Day  of  the  Lord  at  hand  !  " 

On  the  famous  "  dark  day  "  in  1780  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  in  session  at 
Hartford  was  greatly  alarmed  by  the  unaccountable 
veiling  of  the  sun  at  high  noon.  A  whisper  passed 
among  the  legislators  that  this  might  possibly  be  the 
end  of  the  world.  At  this  juncture  Colonel  Daven- 
port arose  and  moved  that  candles  be  brought  and 
that  they  proceed  with  the  work  in  hand.  "  For," 
he  said,  "  if  this  is  indeed  the  end  of  the  world,  I  am 
sure  the  Master  can  find  us  no  better  employed  than 
in  attending  to  our  appointed  tasks." 

Here  is  the  Master's  word  :  "  Let  your  loins  be 
girt— as  for  labor— and  your  lights  be  burning— as  in 
vigil— and  ye  yourselves  like  men  that  wait  for  the 
coming  of  their  Lord  ;  that  when  he  cometh  and 
knocketh,  at  even  or  at  midnight  or  at  cock-crowing 
or  in  the  morning,  ye  may  open  unto  him  imme- 
diately." Watch,  therefore,  for  ye  know  not  the  day 
nor  the  hour  when  the  Son  of  Man  cometh.  He 
which  testifieth  these  things  saith.  Surely  I  come 
quickly.     Amen.     Even  so  come.  Lord  Jesus  ! 


mERSARY,  THE;  His  Person,  Power  and  Purpose —A  Study 
in  SATANOLOGY.  By  William  A.  Matson,  D.D.  l2mo. 
cloth,  233  pp.    $1.25. 

THE  NEW  YORK  INDEPENDENT  says:  "The  volume  is  a 
very  thorough  study  of  the  subject  from  historic,  theoretic, 
biblical  and  experimental  points  of  view." 

ALEPH,  THE  CHALDEAN;  or.  The  Messiah,  as  Seen  from 
Alexandria.— By  E.  F.  Burr,  D.D.,  LLP.  i2mo.  cloth, 
416  pp.    $1.75. 

THE  TREASURY  says:  "This  latest  production  will  sur- 
pass in  popularity  all  his  previous  works.  With  somewhat  the 
same  aim  as  "  Beu  Hur  "  it  will  doubtless  overrun  it  in  cir- 
culation, and  outrun  it  in  continuous  and  permanent  interest." 

DECISION  OF  CHARACTER  AND  OTHER  ESSAYS.-ln  a  series 
of  letters.  By  John  Foster.  12mo,  cloth,  352  pp. 
$1.50. 

JOHN  McCLINTOCK,  D.  D.,  says:  "  His  writings  are 
marked  by  strong  original  thought,  stimulating  to  the  best 
principles  and  purposes." 

FATHER  SOLON ;  or.  The  Helper  flelped.-By  Rev.  De  Los 
Lull.    12mo.  cloth,  367  pp.    $1.50. 

THE  EPISCOPAL  METHODIST  says  :  "  The  author,  widely 
known  as  a  clergyman  and  a  close  student  of  human  nature, 
brings  to  light  a  charmingly  written  and  decidedly  spirit  story 
concerning  the  home,  the  factory  and  the  church." 

GOSPEL  OF  THE  SPIRITUAL  INSIGHT,  THE.-Being  Stuaies 
in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  By  Charles  F.  Deems, 
D.D.,  LLD.    12mo,  cloth,  377  pp.    $1.50. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE  says :  "  For  point  and  pith, 
fresh  illustrations  and  thorough  exposition,  the  volumes  will 
command  the  attention  of  pastors  and  teachers. " 


Date  Due 

-i  --  . . 

^  J''  :3|9        ,  i 

1F20  "39 


Pv 


2  3  '4^ 


»    »~  n  • 


il, 


i 


^ 


.-. Melon  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  01028  6898 


